HetaOffice
by Fell's Blessing
Summary: A new job, a crazy boss, a cross-dressing co-worker, and a mess of office romances. What could possibly go wrong? AU, multi-pair
1. Chapter 1

Hiya, everyone! This is my first fanfic on here. This just grew out of an obsession I have with Hetalia and the Office (NBC). This isn't a crossover, but some plotlines will be taken from the Office (mostly the ones pertaining to romance and junk). Also, I'll be updating this on my DeviantArt account too, and I may or may not update faster over there than on here. In Chapter 2, I'll be writing a little guide in the beginning about everyone's positions within the office, so nobody gets confused. Just a warning, I wrote this back in September, so this chapter kinda sucks, but the next ones will be better, I swear!

Quick warning, there will be many, many, many pairings in this story. And the ones I write down may or may not last until the end.

**Pairings:** LietPol, USUK, Spamano, GerIta, CanUkr, RoChu, SunFin, RussLiet, PrusPol, DenNor, AusHun, PrusHun, PruCan, BelaLiet, one-sided BelRuss, aaaaaaaaaand France being France. Forgive me, if I forget some, and I hope you don't get confused. Dx

And just as _another_ sidenote. Lithuania will be the main POV character for...about half of the content of the story. In fact, in the beginning, it will mainly focus a lot on him (don't worry, some characters will have POV sections too!) until...well, I'll just let you guys find out. |D

Soooooo, without further ado, here's chapter one!

* * *

><p><strong>HetaOffice<strong>

**Chapter 1**

_The first day is always the hardest..._

Toris sighed, as he pulled into the parking lot of his new job, some company called Herozone Paper Company. From what he gained from the interview, his new boss seemed to be obsessed with superheroes and stuff like that. Still, Toris wondered who would take a company with that name seriously.

He went through the front door of the building and entered the elevator, holding the door open for a pretty young woman with platinum blond hair.

"Hello!" he said brightly. "Which floor?"

"Fourth," she said flatly.

"Oh, you work for Herozone too?" he asked. "I'm the new salesman there. I'm Toris Lorinaitis."

"Natalia Arlovskaya."

The elevator dinged.

"Well, I'm looking forward to working with you, Natalia," he said.

She said nothing, but seemed to take hurried steps as she went inside. Almost as if she wanted to get away from him.

Toris took a deep breath and entered the office. Everyone already seemed to be working, phoning clients, checking prices, and...even a few playing solitaire on their computers. Some raised their heads to look at Toris for a little bit before going back to work.

"Um, hello, Mr. Jones," he said, peeking into his boss' office.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeey, Toris!" exclaimed Alfred, looking up from his desk. "What's up?"

"Oh nothing much. Uh, where do I sit, exactly?"

"I haven't showed you yet? That's right!" exclaimed Alfred, taking Toris by the arm.

He dragged Toris to a corner of the office, where there were five other people working. They all looked at him.

"Here are you're new desk buddies!" said Alfred. "There's Eduard von Bock, our resident computer geek extraordinaire! Seriously, ask him anything about computers, and he'll tell you." The bespectacled blonde smiled at Toris. "Ivan Braginski." The large man gave him a creepy smile. "Yyyyeah, that's our Ivan." Alfred sighed. "Raivis Galante, one of our youngest employees. Say hi to Toris, Raivis." Raivis shivered a little and waved at Toris. "And of course, the fabulous Feliks Łukasiewicz!"

"Oh, _finally_you pronounce my name right!" exclaimed Feliks.

Toris jumped a little. He never imagined that Feliks would be guy, especially since he was wearing a nice blouse and a short black skirt.

"Basically, all you need to do is call these potential clients and see if you can make a sale." Alfred pulled out a thick binder from a filing cabinet and sat the giant thing on Toris' desk.

"If you need any help, anyone of these guys definitely wouldn't mind helping you."

Another man went up to Alfred. "Hey, Alfred, what'm I supposed to do about these new leads?..."

"Oh hey!" Alfred threw an arm around the other man's shoulder in a headlock. "This here's Arthur Kirkland, head salesman and my assistant!"

"Argh! Alfred, what the hell?" snarled Arthur, trying to flail his way out of Alfred's grip. "Get off me, you git!"

"Ah, Arthur, you know you love me," said Alfred. He released Arthur. "Just showing you around to the new guy!"

"Of course. Hello," said Arthur rather curtly. "What do I do with these new leads, Alfred?"

"Just put them on my desk. I'll sort them out."

When Arthur began to walk away, Alfred pinched his shoulder slyly.

"Will you _stop doing that_?" Arthur demanded. "God..."

Alfred chuckled. "Okay then. See ya around the office, Toris!"

And with that note, he left.

Toris put his suitcase down and turned on the computer, which took ages to start up. He set up his work e-mail and downloaded the e-mail program on his computer.

"You need help with sales, da?" asked Ivan.

"Oh! No thanks, Mr...uh...Braginski," said Liet, opening the giant binder. "But I'll be sure to ask if I do."

"Are you sure?"

"Uhh, yeah, I am..."

"Really?"

"Yes..."

"Oh come on, Ivan," Feliks said reproachfully, sliding his chair over to Toris. "If the newbie doesn't want help, don't give him any. Sheesh."

Ivan shrugged and went back to his work, poking Raivis in the back with a pen.

"Sorry about that," said Feliks. "Ivan can be a little eager when it comes to new salesman. Anyway, I'm Feliks Łukasiewicz, but you probably already know this already." He shook Toris' hand. "What's your name again?"

"I'm Toris Lorinaitis," he said. "Pleased to meet you, Feliks."

"Like, me too."

Feliks slid his chair back over to his desk and began typing.

Toris figured it was finally time for him to start working. He opened the gigantic binder and dialed in the first number.

"Hello, this is Toris Lorinaitis from Herozone Paper Company and I was wondering if you're interested in buying some paper from us-"

The other person hung up.

Toris scratched off that name with a pencil. _Well, that went well._

"Hello, this is Toris Lorinaitis from He-"

"I DON'T WANT ANY GODDAMN MUSHROOMS."

Dead line.

"Hello, this is-"

"Oh...Yes...YES!"

Toris slammed the phone down on the receiver in disgust. He decided to try again.

"Hello, this Toris Lorinaitis from Herozone Paper Company and I was wondering if you're interested in buying some paper from us."

"Oh...you're from Herozone?"

"Yes. I'm a salesman there. Are you from the-" Toris had to squint "-Allen Law Firm?"

"I am Mr. Allen."

"Hello...err, do you want paper?"

"Yeah, we're in need of a new paper company. We just had to break off our relationship with one of the larger chains."

"Oh sorry to hear that."

"It sucks, yeah. So anyway, what're your prices?"

"Let me check."

_Shit._Toris immediately started clicking through the computer files to see if he could spy anything related to prices. Suddenly, an e-mail popped in his inbox. He opened it.

_"Hey, here's a list of all the prices! Good luck!~ Feliks"_

Toris looked over at Feliks, who seemed to be engrossed in his work. He smiled slightly.

"Uhh, hello?"

"Oh yes, sorry about that, sir! Well, we have a case of ten reams of the premium stock paper for forty dollars, twenty reams for seventy dollars, and-"

"Eh, I'll just take the twenty reams."

"Okay! That's great." Toris grabbed a notepad out from his suitcase and started scribbling. "So, I presume this'll be mailed to your office?"

"Yes it will."

"Alright! Well, I hope to see more of your business in the future, Mr. Allen."

"And I yours."

Toris put the phone down. "YES!" he exclaimed.

"Guys, I think the newbie made a sale," said Eduard.

"What?" Ivan stopped poking Raivis' arm, where a bruise had already begun to form.

"Yeah, I did!" said Toris, brimming over with excitement.

"Congratulations!"

"C-congrats!"

Toris slid his chair over to Feliks' desk. "Hey, thanks for helping me with the prices and stuff. I really appreciate it."

Feliks smiled. "Like, no problem. Glad I could help."

Toris was about to slid his chair away when Feliks said, "Hey..."

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking, do you want to, like, hang out for a little while after work? You know...to celebrate your first sale...or something."

Toris blinked. "Umm, okay sure...What exactly you thinking of?"

Feliks shrugged. "I dunno. You can hang out at my place, we can go to the bar...or dinner...or the movies." He blushed a little.

"Yeah," said Toris. "The bar or some food sounds good, maybe we can catch a movie."

"So...dinner and a movie?"

"Yeah."

"So...it's a date!"

"Yeah...wait, _what_?"


	2. Chapter 2

'Kay, guys! Chapter 2's up! Anyways, here's a list of all the employees and their positions, like I promised.

**Herozone:**** Cambridge, MA Branch**  
><strong>Regional Manager: Alfred F. Jones<strong>  
><strong>Assistant to the Regional Manager: Arthur Kirkland<strong>  
><strong>Receptionist: Natalia Arlovskaya<strong>  
><strong>Sales Representatives: (in order of seniority)<strong>  
><strong>Francis Bonnefoy<strong>  
><strong>Ludwig Beilschmidt<strong>  
><strong>Wang Yao<strong>  
><strong>Lovino Vargas<strong>  
><strong>Ivan Braginski<strong>  
><strong>Feliks Łukasiewicz<strong>  
><strong>Antonio Carriedo<strong>  
><strong>Eduard von Bock (also helps with Tech Support—gets a bonus whenever a problem arises with the computers)<strong>  
><strong>Raivis Galante (once a temp worker, now full-time salesman)<strong>  
><strong>Toris Lorinaitis<strong>  
><strong>Accounting: (in order of seniority)<strong>  
><strong>Katyusha Braginskaya<strong>  
><strong>Vash Zwingli<strong>  
><strong>Kiku Honda<strong>  
><strong>Quality Assurance: Elizabeta Hédérvary<strong>  
><strong>Supplier Relations: Im Yong Soo<strong>  
><strong>Customer Relations: Feliciano Vargas (originally in Accounting, but failed, so Alfred switched him to CR)<strong>  
><strong>Human Resources: Matthew Williams<strong>

**There are also five other branches of Herozone, located in: Albany, New York; Portland, Maine; Newark, New Jersey; Berlington, Vermont; and New Haven, Connecticut. The Albany branch will play a larger role in the story. Corporate is located in New York, New York.**

This chapter was such a pain to write. I started it in February, and I barely finished it now. Don't worry! There won't be giant gaps between the chapters! I'm sure of it! It was _sooooo_ much longer than Chapter 1 though. Also, I apologize if this chapter's kinda slow. It kinda turned into a "character introduction" chapter, like I feared. Dx**  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

* * *

><p>"Heeeeeeeey, Lovi!"<p>

_Ignore him, Lovino. Just ignore him…_

"Lovinoooooooooo!"

_Goddammit, Antonio!_

"Looooooviiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

Lovino rolled his eyes and continued to work, ignoring the other as much as possible.

"LOVI!"

He whirled around to face the Spaniard from across the aisle, eyes blazing. "What is it you want, you bastard?"

Antonio smirked, obviously used to Lovino's snappiness. "I was just wondering if we're still going out tonight 'cause -"

Lovino put his hand over Antonio's mouth. "Shut _up_, Antonio!" he hissed, looking around worriedly. "Do you want everyone to find out about us?"

Antonio did nothing, and then slowly nodded.

The Italian's eyes narrowed. "Well, I _don't_, and I don't plan on telling anyone anytime soon! Got it?"

Antonio rolled his eyes and nodded. He swiveled back to his desk. Lovino glared at him for a few moments and turned back to his. It was quiet in the office for a few moments. And then he heard a chair swivel in his direction.

"So…are we still on or what?"

Lovino jumped, his mug full of pencils and pens falling all over his desk and Ludwig's . Aw, crap, now the potato bastard would be -

"Lovino!" snapped Ludwig. "Would you stop spilling your pencils all over my desk? Mein Gött, you're almost as bad as your brother…"

"S-sorry," he muttered, plopping the writing instruments back into his mug. He looked over his shoulder. Antonio had turned away, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.

* * *

><p>E5<p>

Feliks continued pressing the button on the vending machine, getting more and more frustrated each time. He had left his package of paluszki back at his apartment, and by the time he noticed it was missing from his bag, it was already too late. Now it was ten-thirty and his craving returned. And now, he had to make due with regular chips.

"Oh, come _on_, you stupid thing!" he said, slamming his palm on the glass. The damn Doritos wouldn't come out! They were halfway stuck on the ring.

"Geez, what did the vending machine do to you?"

He turned around at the familiar voice. "Hey, Lizzie."

Elizabeta put her coins into the other vending machine, each one clinking as it was inserted. "You're an odd sight over here. What happened to your paluszki?"

"Forgot it."

"Oh." There was an uncomfortable pause between them. Feliks shifted a little, knowing what she would ask about next.

"Sooooooo…did you and that new guy ever go out?" she asked. "You asked him out, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but he totally turned me down. I dunno." He shook the vending machine again before finally giving up. He sighed, weakly kicking the bottom. "You think he's straight?"

Elizabeta shrugged. "I dunno. I caught him looking over at Natalia a few times."

Feliks gave her a look of disgust. "Ewwwww! No way! _Her_? But she's totally not Toris' type! She's so, like, _weird_ and creepy! She totally digs Ivan, you know that right—?"

"I'm just telling you what I've seen," she said, putting her hands up. "To be honest, you _were_ kinda…_forward_ with him."

"Really?"

"It was his first day at work, Feliks. He's probably creeped out that one of his co-workers asked him out. Just give him some time."

Now that he thought about it, she _did_ have a point. When Feliks asked him on Tuesday, the expression on Toris' face was one of complete horror. He quickly turned down Feliks, muttering an apology, and went back to selling paper. It had been two days, and there had been an awkward wall between them. Whenever Feliks tried to talk to him, Toris just stuttered and looked away, always answering in short sentences. And whenever Toris tried to talk to him, _Feliks_ stuttered and blushed madly.

"I guess you're right," he said, slumping his shoulders.

Elizabeta picked up her drink and lightly elbowed him in the ribs. "Hey, you know, I think I can help out somehow."

Feliks looked at her, hope blooming on his face. "R-really? How?"

"I can talk to him during lunch—tell him the lowdown on everything going on around here, maybe give him a slight _nudge_ in the right direction, if you get my drift." She winked.

"You'd do that, Lizzie? Wow, thank you so much!" He threw his arms around her. "You're such an awesome friend! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

She giggled and patted his back. "I'd do anything to help my BFF," she said.

When they broke apart, she squealed. "Oh. My. God! You _cannot_ believe who I caught making out in the bushes!"

Feliks gasped. "Oh my God, who, who? I totally want to hear about this!"

"Even better! I caught them on camera!"

* * *

><p>Lunch was rather awkward for Toris. Yesterday he just sat at his desk to eat, but then he just felt so <em>isolated<em> from everyone else. So, today he decided to go into the break room to each. Everyone just seemed in their little group on their little tables, chatting happily. He spotted Feliks chatting rapidly with one of the customer relations guys—Feliciano?—and his incredibly bored-looking blonde boyfriend. Eduard and Raivis were at a table with Ivan, Natalia, and a large-breasted accountant named Katyusha. He was heading over to sit with them until he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey, need someone to sit with?"

He turned around. "Oh, umm, hello." It was a pretty brunette woman who he saw talking with Feliks sometimes. What did she do again?...

"Elizabeta, isn't it?"

She nodded. "You can just call me Lizzie." She headed for an empty table in the corner. "Soooo, would you mind sitting with me? Or do you want to sit alone?"

"Oh! Oh, of course I'll sit with you! Sure!"

They sat down. Toris chewed on his sandwich pensively while Elizabeta just stared at him, picking at her salad. He figured that he was supposed to be the one to start the conversation.

"Umm, Elizabeta—"

"Lizzie."

"Lizzie. How long have you been working here?"

"Two years. My boyfriend's been working here longer, but he's over at the Albany branch. He's the assistant regional manager over there. He says the manager over there's a complete moron. I've met him a few times. He's an ass, and Roderich would have gotten him fired a long time ago, but corporate just loooooooovesss him." She viciously stabbed a tomato, its juices running through the lettuce.

Toris flinched. "Oh. That's awful." He took another bite of his sandwich.

"Yeah, but he's over in Albany. As long as he doesn't come to Cambridge, I'm a happy girl. But enough about me. What about you? Where're you from?"

"My family's from Philly, but I moved when I got accepted to college up here. Worked at Staples for a little while, then decided I wanted to sell paper. So, I decided to sign up for an interview here, and here I am."

"Hmm. Interesting. I bet Alfred gave you the tour, right?"

"Yeah, why? Doesn't he do it with everyone?"

"Yes…but I bet he didn't give you the _unofficial_ tour, did he?"

_Unofficial tour?_ "No…what's that?" To be honest, he felt quite a bit frightened. He had been in a frat in college; he knew about hazing.

"Weeeeeeeeeeeell…" Elizabeta looked around the break room. "There are a few things about this office that Alfred doesn't mention in his tour."

"…Like, what…?"

"I'll just say, be lucky that you weren't here for Christmas parties. Alfred likes to buy beer, and _lots_ of it."

"But, isn't that illegal in Massachusetts?"

Elizabeta sighed. "Toris, would Alfred let a little law like that keep him from giving out booze during a Christmas party of all things?"

"Umm…"

"Exactly."

They continued to chew in silence again before Elizabeta pointed to the British man that Alfred had playfully teased on Toris' first day. "You see that guy over there?" she asked.

"Umm, yeah."

"That's Arthur Kirkland. He pretends to be such a prude and stuffy and just so _British_, but I know his secret."

…This was not going to end well…

"Last Christmas party, I forgot my car keys in the office. I went back up here to get them and…" She erupted in giggles. "…I-I saw h-him and Alfred in Alfred's office and…and Alfred was _spanking_ him."

Toris was staring at her. "…Wait, _what_?"

"Of course, I told everyone, and Arthur denies that anything happened, but Alfred always avoids the question, so I wonder…"

Toris took a deep breath. Interesting office gossip. Certainly more interesting than Staples.

"Oh! Oh! You know Lovino Vargas?" she asked excitedly.

A day ago at the water cooler, Toris had tripped accidentally and spilled his cup on Lovino's shirt, which brought out probably the longest and loudest exclamation of English and Italian curses that he had heard.

"A little bit."

"Well, he's totally dating Antonio—you know, the Spanish salesman—but the cutest thing is they doesn't know that _everyone_ knows about them. Seriously. They try to keep it all secretive and hidden, and they just make out in the closet and stuff." She suddenly pulled out a camera from her pocket. "You know, I just caught a video of them in the bushes earlier today. Wanna see?"

"Uh, no."

"That's too bad." She shrugged and put the camera away.

"Um, Eliza—Lizzie?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you telling me all these things?"

She blinked at him before chewing on a lettuce leaf. "Oh, I'm just giving you a rundown of everything that goes on here, just so…you know, you don't freak out if you see something weird."

"Umm, thank you?"

She smiled. "No problem."

Toris let out a sigh. This place was definitely going to be weirder than Staples. Something niggled at the back of his mind, but he decided not to say anything about it.

Or would he…?

"So…do you know anything about…?"

* * *

><p>Toris stared at his computer, just looking over the same old boring spreadsheet and waiting until the clock on his computer reached five o'clock.<p>

Or he could just ask Ivan now. It wouldn't be that bad, would it?

"Hey…Ivan?"

Ivan stopped twirling his pencil. "Yes?"

Toris took a deep breath. "Natalia…she's not seeing anyone, is she?"

A look of surprise came upon Ivan's face. "Umm, no. Why are you asking?"

"I was just wondering if it would be alright for me to…go out with her, you know? Maybe go out for dinner a couple of times." He braced, wondering if Ivan would blow up on him. But he was just following what Elizabeta said…

To Toris' shock unmistakable relief flooded Ivan's face.

"You…You want to date my sister?" he asked, starting to stare at Toris as though he were a savior.

"Yes, if you don't mind, of course."

"Oh!" Ivan actually got out of his seat, went over to Toris and hugged him. No, more like squeezed him.

"I'm taking that as a yes…"

"Toris, that would be wonderful!" Ivan exclaimed in complete joy. His voice lowered. "To be honest, Natalia hasn't dated anyone in a very long time. This'll be wonderful."

Toris looked over at reception. Natalia just gave him an icy glare, but he couldn't help but grin at her.

Ivan released him. "Does Friday sound good for you, Toris? I could easily arrange something for you two, da?"

"That would be great. Thanks, Ivan!"

The Russian warmly smiled at him and returned to his desk.

Toris continued to work with that silly grin on his face, blissfully unaware that a blond head had perked up and had listened to their entire conversation.


	3. Chapter 3

Hiya, guys! Back with another update! Golly, thanks so much for the reviews and favs and alerts everyone! :3 And I'm sorry that this one's kinda late. I had a lot of schoolwork to do. _And_ the next chapter might be a bit late too, since I'm thinking of working on a lot of oneshots and there's also more schoolwork. Agh.

Wow, this is also the longest chapter I've written. xDD They just keep getting longer and longer, don't they? That's what she said.

Oh, and as a heads-up: Emilie=Belgium and Katyusha=Ukraine Just so you don't get confused...

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

* * *

><p>Katyusha glanced around the annex. Aside from Feliciano alternating from checking his e-mails and bidding on something on eBay, it was empty. She smiled slightly, going over to <em>his<em> desk. There weren't much decorations on it—a few pictures of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains, stickers of snowboarders, and a little Canadian flag in his mug. She giggled; he must have loved his home country.

She placed her small gifts on his desk—pancake mix and a bottle of maple syrup, along with a little note that said, "Would you like to have breakfast with me? :)" She was far too timid to put her name down.

Katyusha never remembered when she started to have feelings for Matthew. He was always so shy, so quiet, just like her. She would say hi to him occasionally, and he would smile at her and say hi back. People always ignored him. In fact, Katyusha thought that she was the only person who knew he existed in this office. Well, her and Alfred, but since Alfred was his half-brother, he didn't really count.

"Kat-a-yusha!"

She jumped and spun around. "F-feliciano!"

He looked over his shoulder, smiling. "I would have never expected to see you around here!" he said bubbly. He was always so happy, unlike his brother whom Katyusha never got along with. "Why are you here?"

"Umm, uhh..." Katyusha was at a loss for words. She definitely, definitely didn't want to tell the truth, but she couldn't think up of an alibi at the moment—

"Did you come to help check some finances with Matthew?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed with quite a bit of enthusiasm. Maybe a bit too much, since Feliciano flinched a little.

"Uh, I mean, yes, yes, I did!" She felt a little bit of a blush creep up her cheeks. "B-but he's not here right now...obviously..." Oh goodness, she just sounded so _stupid_. "So I'll just leave..."

"You know, I don't think he came into work today. I haven't seen him all day."

"Oh..." Katyusha's shoulders slumped slightly. "Th-that's okay. It wasn't really that important anyways." She turned around to leave, thinking, _Oh, this'll never work out..._, and walked straight into—

"Matthew!" she exclaimed.

"Katyusha," he said, giving her that smile that made her heart melt. "You're a rare right over here."

"Matthew, you came in today?" asked Feliciano. "How come I haven't seen you?"

Matthew sighed. "Feliciano, I've been here for _three_ hours, and _we work right next to each other_!"

"Oh...Oh well, back to work." And so Feliciano went back to bidding.

"So," said Matthew, "Katyusha, what brought you over here? Need some help with something?"

"No," she said quickly. "Uhh, I mean, _yes_, I did, but um, I-I sort of need to—I have a doctor's appointment!"

"Is there something wrong?"

"Noit'sjustaphysical."

"Your face is all red—"

"I have rosacea!" she yelled wildly and ran out of the annex.

Matthew just stood there, blinking and trying to figure out what happened. "That was weird," he said. His mouth opened slightly as he saw the gifts left on his desk, and he sat down.

"Hey...Feliciano," he said, picking up the box of pancake mix. "Do you know who left this here?"

"Huh? The pancakes...? I don't know, it was already here when Katyusha came over."

Matthew took off the Post-It. "'Will you come have breakfast with me?'" he read. "Cute, but I don't know who did this."

"It could be Francis. You know he's always been wanting to go out with you."

"Ahhh, no." Matthew crumpled up the note and threw it in the garbage. "Well, I shouldn't let good pancakes go to waste." He slipped the pancake box and the maple syrup into his suitcase. "Still, Katyusha was acting pretty weird. I hope her rosacea goes away..."

* * *

><p>Arthur knocked. "Alfred, may I come in?"<p>

"Sure thing!" He opened the door and ushered Arthur inside.

No matter how many times he had been inside Alfred's office, he couldn't help but roll his eyes at the _absurdity_ of it. It was like walking into the room of a comic-book obsessed twelve-year-old. There was an ancient giant poster of the first Superman movie on one wall and a poster of _The Dark Knight_ on the other. Action figures littered his desktop, and a three-foot model of the batmobile laid on top of Alfred's filing cabinet. The only thing normal on his desk was a little American flag, a picture of a smiling seven-year-old Alfred and his grandfather on a sailing boat, and a coffee mug that said, "World's Best Boss". Arthur had given him that mug two years ago on his birthday (or "America's birthday", as he called it), and Alfred had used it nearly every day since.

Alfred sat down in his cozy black armchair. Arthur sat in it once, and he thought that he would fall straight into the cushion.

"So, Artie, what's up?" he asked, locking his hands behind his head.

"Alfred." Arthur sat in the less-than-comfortable swiveling chair. I was just wondering if you've looked over and signed all of the packets. They're due by tomorrow, and they're pretty important."

"What, these things?" Alfred went over to the filing drawer and pulled out a giant stack of papers. He set them on his desk with a small _thump_. And all of them were unsigned...

_"What?"_ exclaimed Arthur. He stood up and banged his knees on the edge of the table, flopping back into the chair.

"A-alfred! Those are _extremely_ important! If you don't get them signed, corporate will—"

"Eh, corporate-schmorporate," said Alfred, leaning back and grinning. "I'll fill 'em out tomorrow. Besides, I need to practice my signature!"

"...Signature? Alfred, just _sign_ them!"

"Yeah, but Artie, a signature is a reflection of _myself_! I can't just sign it willy-nilly! It's a work of art!"

_"Alfred!"_

Just then, the phone started ringing, interrupting their conversation. Alfred picked it up. "Hell-o? Hey!...Yeah, he's here. Why?" The grin faded away, and Alfred covered the speaker. "Arthur, close the door," he said quietly.

Arthur did so, worry starting to prickle in his chest.

Alfred pressed the speaker button as Arthur sat back down.

"Good afternoon, Emilie," said Arthur. "How are you?"

"Fine, but umm, not good for your guys, Arthur. Not good at all."

Emilie De Witte? Herozone's Vice President of Sales? Arthur had only seen her once, and that was when he went over to corporate with Alfred for a conference with all of the other managers. She seemed cheerful enough, but could be a little nosy at times. But this time, she didn't sound the slightest bit happy.

"What seems to be the problem, Em?" asked Alfred, starting to fiddle with the phone cord. "Did we forget to sign something or another?"

"Alfred, no. The thing is, we've been talking and..." She paused. "And, we've been wondering if we can afford to have both a New Haven and a Cambridge branch."

Arthur felt as though his stomach had dropped. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Don't tell me you're thinking of shutting us down!" exclaimed Alfred.

"Well..._yes_, we are. You and New Haven are the worst performing branches in the company, and there's no way that we can afford to keep those two—"

"Then, _shut down New Haven_!" yelled Alfred.

"Alfred, don't yell—" started Arthur, but the other continued.

"Come on! New Haven's just so _boring_! Did you even _hear_ Mike's speech at the last conference? My God, Emilie! I just wanted to hide under the table; it was just _so_ awful! Besides, _we've got Harvard_!"

"I don't think that has anything to do with it, Al—"

"Because Harvard is _so much freaking better than Yale_! And you know it!"

"ALFRED!"

Emilie had screamed over Alfred's yelling, causing the latter to shut his mouth.

"Alfred," she repeated, lowering her voice. "This has nothing to do with how boring Mike is or New Haven is, or the Harvard-Yale rivalry. This all just comes down to numbers."

"B-but, _Em_..."

"Alfred, that's _it_! End of discussion. The other executive officers and I will discuss this at our next meeting."

"But—!"

"Good bye!"

And then she hung up.

Arthur and Alfred stared at the phone for a few moments, before Arthur finally spoke.

_"Well, that's just great, you git! You probably got us all fired!"_

* * *

><p>"But then, it turns out that Dr. Crowe is dead too! Twist ending, you get it? I didn't get it at all when I first saw it, but then a friend of mine came by and pointed it out to me? Cool, huh?" chatted Toris, as he poked his own steak nervously.<p>

There were already inside the restaurant and Natalia _still_ wouldn't talk to him. Maybe she just wasn't a talkative girl, or maybe she was just nervous without Ivan around. (Ivan had practically shoved them out of his car and drove away with a really quick, "Bye!" He might've had an emergency; he had looked rather desperate...)

"Anyway, that's just my take on it. You watch any movies?"

Natalia glared at him. "No. I don't spend my time like that." She looked so pretty like that, in a pretty little skirt and blouse with her hair all brushed out and shiny. His heart just melted. He didn't want to come onto her too fast, but he didn't want to isolate her either. To be honest, he had never had much experience with dating, and whenever he went out on a date, it just ended in complete disaster.

"Ohhh, so you're not a movie person? Do you like reading books instead? I _love_ reading books! I really like Harry Potter. Ron's so funny!"

"I don't read fantasy."

"What _do_ you read?"

"_Salem's Lot_. _Carrie_. _Pet Semetary_. You can practically _taste_ the fear and terror in those books."

There were something about the way she said those word that made the hair on the back of Toris' neck stand on edge.

"Eh, I'm not a fan of Stephen King. Too dark."

Natalia blinked.

Another awkward moment of silence. With both of them just staring at each other (well, Natalia still glaring at him). Then, Toris decided to be a little playful with her and leaned across the table to snatch some chicken away from her plate with his fork. Which was probably the wrong move.

Natalia kicked him. Hard. In the ankle. And she was wearing those spiky high-heels.

"Ow!" Toris sat back down, rubbing his ankle with his other foot. _God_, that was probably the most painful kick someone had dealt him. But he smirked. A little feisty, was she? Well, he could put up with that.

The rest of the dinner passed by without event. His ankle started to throb and he could feel it starting to swell, but he couldn't help but just smile at her.

Afterwards, Natalia called Ivan and he came to pick them up. She slid as far away from Toris as possible as he limped inside.

"So, Toris, Natalia!" Ivan said cheerfully. "How did your little night out go?"

Natalia replied instantly. "It was awful."

"I thought it went pretty well," said Toris. "We both had a great time."

Ivan smiled. "That's excellent, Toris! I'm glad."

Natalia gave Toris a poisonous look from across the car. "I'm not."

"So, how would you like it if you guys go out somewhere else next week?" asked Ivan. "Maybe you two could walk around Boston for a little while. Toris, I trust that you could drive Natalia home, yes? Or I wouldn't mind if you decide to stay with him for the night, Natalia..."

"Brother, how _dare you—_! With _him_?" she sputtered, her face going completely white.

"Ivan, that would be amazing!" exclaimed Toris. "Thank you so much! I have no idea how I'm going to repay you for this..."

Ivan smile widened. "Oh, don't worry, Toris. I'll take care of everything..."

* * *

><p>Oh good God, Toris had that <em>stupid<em> look on his face again. Feliks sighed in absolute disgust and scribbled down some numbers.

Well, Lizzie had did half her job—she had given Toris the Tour and the awkward-ness between him and Feliks had dissolved. He and Toris had chatted quite a bit during lunch. Feliks did most of the talking though; Toris would just sit there and listen and occasionally put in a comment or two. But he didn't complain, not once. For the most part, Feliks was very happy with their relationship.

But then there was _her_.

Ever since he had returned from his date with Natalia a few weeks ago, Toris had done nothing but stare at reception with a glassy infatuated look. Well, he worked for a little bit too, but whenever Feliks looked up to look at h—the calender, he would be gazing at Natalia. Feliks knew that look; it was the look he gave to the little boy down the street when he was eight years old. And it normally ended in heartache.

A deliveryman came by reception, holding a bouquet of...oh no he didn't—

"Two dozen roses for Miss Natalia Arlovskaya?"

The office went deathly quiet, and everyone turned to look at reception. Toris grinned from ear to ear.

"That would be me," whispered Natalia, her voice so cold one could sense a drop in temperature. Everyone leaned in to hear her.

The poor deliveryman shuddered at her tone and took a step back. "U-um, these are for you then," he said, placing the roses on her desk.

Natalia stared at them. "Who sent them to me?" she asked.

"U-um, a T-toris L-l-lorinaitis," he replied, continued stepping towards the door. "Y-you know, I have to go. You can forget about s-signing the form. I could...just...you know, that's not really n-necessary." He gave one last shudder before running out the door.

Toris jumped up and ran over to reception, completely unaware of the feeling of imminent doom. "Natalia," he said, taking one of her hands. "Natalia, these two dozen roses are for each day that I've been your boyfriend, and—and they've been the best twenty days of my life. And I love you, so much. And—umm...y-you're beautiful." He went red, very red.

Francis groaned and plugged his ears. These awful words were obviously torturing the Master of Love. Ludwig shook his head in pity. Yong Soo started to giggle. And Elizabeta and Feliks held their heads in their hands. This was just so, so painful. _Toris, just stop. Just stop before you humiliate yourself more._

Natalia glowered at him, pure and utter hatred just _radiating_ off of her in waves. In fact, Feliks felt it even though he sat almost a hundred feet away and didn't look at them. He shifted his fingers so that he could see a little.

"No," Natalia said softly, bringing the wastebasket up on the desk.

And then, she took the two dozen roses and tore the petals off and dumped both the petals and the decapitated stems and threw them into the trash. She calmly put the basket back down and went back to work.

Toris just stood there awkwardly and drummed his fingers on the desk. He finally headed back to his seat (ignoring the looks that everyone gave him) and sat back down, defeated. As much as Feliks hate-hated-_hated_ his relationship with Natalia, he couldn't help but pity his poor, poor clueless friend. Despite the fact that she was a complete psychopath, he _adored_ her. A few weeks ago, Feliks would have been more than happy to break them up. But seeing Toris so infatuated and just _in love_ with her, he knew that it would break his heart if that ever happened. So now, Feliks had to sit down, shut up, and watch the coming slaughter.

* * *

><p>Yesss…that's pretty much it guys! Um, read and review! Next chapter might be a bit more…<em>explosive<em> and abusive towards Toris. Poor Toris. Oh, and keep in mind that Harvard-Yale rivalry. It might come in handy a bit later~


	4. Chapter 4

Whoooo! Sorry for the late update people. I was, like, getting ready for AP tests, but now that they're done, I got plenty of time!

This chapter was actually going to be a **lot, lot** longer, but I decided to split it up into two different parts because it would just be waaaay to huge. Also, there are some hints of RoChu, and definite Spamano and shy!Poland. Aaaaand also EstoniaxLatvia if you squint really hard. Liet also gets his heart broken in this chapter. Poor Toris. I torture him too much.

Omgomg! Office fans, did any of you see the good-bye episode with Steve Carrell? THAT WAS SOOO SAD. ;A; Now I want Michael to come back! (But I love Dwight too much, so...)

Thanks so much for all the reviews and alerts and favs, guys! Now if we can just get the review count to above 10, I'd be so happy!

ON WITH THE CHAPTER

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

* * *

><p>Three weeks later, Feliks had walked into what he was thinking would be a normal day at work (well, almost normal, since he had come in wearing pants). He had checked his e-mail (nothing of note except for a crazy chain e-mail from Yong Soo), talked with a client, and looked to see if he had any dirt in his nails. A half-hour had gone by, and Toris still hadn't shown up.<p>

And then it happened.

Feliks looked up. Toris walked in, chatting happily with Ivan.

His arm was in a sling, and there was a cast around his wrist, and he didn't seem to notice it at all

"_Toris!"_ he exclaimed, jumping up from his seat and running over to the poor brunet. "What happened?"

Ivan smiled in that creepy way of his. "Oh, nothing much, Feliks. Toris just hurt himself a little, that's all." He pat Feliks' head (Feliks shuddered) and went over to his desk.

Feliks turned to Toris. "Toris, Toris, what happened?" he demanded. "How'd you get hurt?"

Toris smiled slightly and shook his head. "I'll tell you later when—" He looked around; everyone had turned away from them and continued to work. "Well, maybe later."

He sighed and walked over to his desk.

Alfred zoomed out of his office, holding a megaphone to his lips.

"_SALESPEOPLEEEEESSSSSS!"_ he yelled.

Feliks jumped, his hands over his ears. "Ahhh!"

"Agghhh!"

"Alfred!"

"What the hell, man?"

Alfred grinned. _"SALESPEOPLESSS, CONFERENCE ROOM IN FIVE MIN—NO, FIVE SECONDS! COME ON, LET'S GO! LET'S GO!" _He threw the megaphone behind him into his office and rushed into the room.

Of course. Feliks had completely forgotten about the sales-calls. Alfred had told everyone about them a week ago. No wonder why Feliks wore pants.

After everyone had been seated, Alfred stood up and said, "_Sooooooo_! Today we shall be focusing on _salescalls_, people! All eleven of you are going to be paired up, to maximum efficientness! Sooooo, people with last names at the beginning of the alphabet pick first!"

"I pick Arthur!" exclaimed Francis, grabbing the Englishman's arm.

Arthur swatted his hand away. "You've got to be bloody _joking_! There's not way I'm going out on a sales call with _him_!"

Alfred scowled. "Ehh, Francis, are you serious? Arthur's kinda weird—"

"_Alfred!"_

Francis shrugged. "I don't mind. I find peculiarity to be quite an attractive trait."

"Ahhhhhh!" yelled Arthur. "Alfred, _no_! _Do something_!"

Alfred huffed. "Okay, _fine_! Arthur, you come with me, since you're so scared that Francis'll molest you, aaaaaaaand Francis, you can go with Ludwig."

Ludwig groaned. _"Scheiße..."_

"Nope, nope, nope! Noooo cursing in German, Luddy! I'm not going to change it for you! Okay, next on the list is Ivaaaaaan!"

"I pick Toris!" Ivan smiled.

"Yeah, _no_. I don't care if he's dating your sister, but he's starting to look worse for wear. You're going with Yao."

Ivan's smiled faltered a little but returned to its full shine. "Alright then. You like that, Yao?"

Yao shuddered. "Umm, uhhh..."

"Good! Antoooooniooooo!"

"Lovino!"

Lovino rolled his eyes. "...Fine..."

"Simple and clean! Feliks, I don't know what the hell your last name letter is, but it looks like an 'L', so I'll just pair you up with Toris."

"Totes!" said Feliks, beaming up at the brunet. Toris gave a weak smile.

"That's everyone, right? Greeeaat! So here are the assignments!"

"Umm!"

Raivis' hand shot up. "Alfred, you forgot me and Eduard."

Alfred turned his head to the side. "Huh? Raivis, where are you?"

Raivis leaned forward. "I'm right here!"

"Ohhh! Sorry, Ivan was blocking my view. Yeah, just go with Eduard. You guys are cute together anyways."

Raivis and Eduard blushed and tried not to look at each other.

"Now that we've got all the pairs down, it's time for the assignments!" Alfred took out a piece of paper from his pocket. "Okay! Me and Artie will go down to that psyche hospital over in Belmont. Ludwig and Francis, you guys are heading off to that big lawfirm in Chelsea—"

Ludwig muttered, "That's specific."

"Ivan and Yao, go you to the Briards and Buddies Animal Rescue downtown. I'm sure Yao'll like that. Toris and Feliks, the Paul Revere Magnet School over in Medford. Lovino and Antonio, the country club in Brookline, aaaaand I think that's—"

"_Alfred!"_

"Sorry, Raivis! I'm sorry! You can go with Eduard to that real estate group."

Raivis groaned. "Thanks, Alfred..."

Alfred clapped. _"Let's goooooooooo!"_

They all walked out of the conference room and over to the exit, grabbing coats and suitcases. Toris went over to reception, smiling slightly. Natalia still glared at him.

"So, I guess this is good-bye, huh?" Toris' voice was no louder than a whisper, but Feliks still heard him. "See you later." He leaned in to kiss her.

Natalia put her hand on his cheek and pushed him away. _"No."_

Toris jumped, taking a step back. "What?"

Natalia grit her teeth. "No. I have had it." Her voice leaked venom, and her eyes shone with cold fury. "Toris, you disgust me. I hate you. You are the most pathetic, idiotic, and irritating man I know. Every time you open your mouth, I want to kill myself. Do me a favor and never _ever_talk to me again. Good-bye." She turned to her computer

Toris gulped. All eyes were on them, but quickly looked away. Now Feliks had an idea about who hurt his wrist.

"Uhhhh...great...so...uhh..." He blinked rapidly and turned around.

"Feliks, can you drive? I don't feel so good."

* * *

><p>Lovino scoffed and looked out the window. "I <em>really<em> don't feel like going out on a salescall today."

"Lovi, I don't want to either, but we have to—"

"Dammit! I really wanted to go down to the storage closet today!"

Antonio sighed. "It's not my fault you're always so horny."

Lovino said nothing.

"Okay, how about this. After we make the sales call, how about we book a hotel room somewhere and we can go crazy?"

Lovino smiled. "That sounds great. Antonio?"

"Hmm?"

"If _I'm_ the one to make the sale, can I top?"

"No, Lovino."

"Dammit!"

* * *

><p>"Exactly, <em>how<em> many times has Alfred forgotten about us?" asked Raivis.

"Probably ten. Yeah, I think it's been ten," said Eduard.

Raivis sighed. "Sometimes, I think that Alfred forgets we exist. We're invisible, like, like, that HR guy we have. His name's Michael, right?"

"I think so. Raivis, we're not invisible. At least _some_ people remember that we're in the office. Toris seems to like us—"

"He's out with reception and Feliks half the time."

"And then there's Ivan—"

"Oh _God_, no! That bruise in my back where he keeps poking me _still_ won't go away, and it's been _two months_!" Raivis groaned and threw his head back. "Sometimes, I think I should quit."

Eduard blinked. "Where would you _go_? Weren't you the receptionist before Natalia came?"

Raivis blushed. "W-w-well, I'll have you know that I'm writing a series of romance novels—"

"Not _again_, Raivis!"

"No, really! It's about a girl who moves from Tampa to a little town in Maine and falls in love with a vampire!"

"...Raivis, that's the plot of _Twilight_."

* * *

><p>The car was silent. Too silent.<p>

Toris had his head on the dashboard. Feliks kept his eyes on the road, although he couldn't help but give his sales partner a few worried glances. The happy, teeny-bopper music that he normally played wasn't even on.

"Like, this is your first sales-call, right?" asked Feliks.

"Ughhhhhhhh," moaned Toris.

"Feeling nervous?"

"Ehhhhhh."

"I know I did on my first call. I'm not exactly outgoing with people I don't know, so—"

"Uhhhhhhhhh."

Feliks frowned and sighed. "Toris..."

Toris burst into tears, covering his face with his good hand and sobbing.

"_Toris!"_

Feliks pulled over, turning off the car and putting his arm over his shoulder.

"Shhhh! Toris, Toris, it's okay. It'll be alright! Come on..."

Toris leaned into his shoulder and buried his head in his side. Feliks' breath caught in his throat—Toris had never been _this_ close to him before. He smiled sadly and allowed the other to cry against him.

"Toris, Toris," he murmured comfortingly. "It'll be okay, it'll be okay!"

"_She was my life!"_ Toris exclaimed, shaking his head and grabbing at Feliks' shirt with his good hand. "I loved her, Feliks! I really did!"

Feliks couldn't help but glance at Toris' bad arm. _Well, obviously she didn't have the same feelings for you._ But he said nothing and held him closer.

"I know, I know..."

"I-I thought she really liked me, you know? I mean, we would go out all the time—" _Thanks to Ivan._ "—and we would just talk and talk." _Toris did most of the talking._ "And—and—" Toris choked up and couldn't continue.

Feliks pat his back when suddenly a pang of guilt hit him. Why on earth was he feeling guilty? He wasn't the one who broke up with Toris, or broke his wrist. Was it because, deep down, that he knew that he was happy for the break-up, even though it made his friend a complete mess?

_Because you hated seeing them together_, a voice in the back of his mind told him. _Because you knew that Natalia hated his guts. And deep down, you wanted them to break-up._

"Hey, Toris?"

Toris looked up, tears falling softly down his cheeks. God, he looked so miserable. "Y-yes?"

"Listen—" Feliks dug in his glove compartment and took out a few tissues, handing them to Toris. "—Toris, break-ups suck, okay?" Toris sniffed. Feliks held him tighter. "Hey, how about we go get some ice cream after the sales-call, okay? That always cheers me up after a break-up."

Toris gave him a watery smile. "F-Feliks, thank you," he whispered. He took the tissue and dabbed at his eyes. "I-I'm sorry. You must think I'm weird, crying over a little break-up..."

"Toris, I don't think that it's weird," said Feliks. "You just really liked Natalia, that's why. But it just didn't work out."

Toris sniffed again. "Y-yeah..." He wiped his eyes and gave a shaky laugh. "S-so, how about that sales-call?"

* * *

><p>The drive with Ivan and Yao was incredibly awkward-looking. Yao was trying to not focus on the Russian, while Ivan was looking forward with that creepy smile on his face. Ivan felt rather odd sitting in this car, with its panda-themed seat protectors, a little panda bobble-head, and a few Hello Kitty toys in the back seat. If Ivan didn't know any better, he would have thought that it was the car of an Asian teenage girl. As many times as he had been on sales-calls with Raivis or Eduard or even Alfred, he had never gone on one with Yao before.<p>

"You _love_ animals, da?" he asked.

Yao gulped. "Y-yes," he said. "I have a dog and a few cats at home."

Ivan kept on smiling. "That's good. I've had a dog before." He frowned. "But she died."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

They continued on in silence, until Yao made a sharp turn onto a residential street.

Ivan blinked. "Yao, where are we going?"

"Would you mind if I went to my house for a little while? I need to get something for the call."

"Umm, alright then."

Yao parked in front of a small house and ran inside. Ivan sat in the car, looking around at the neighborhood.

After a few minutes, Yao came back, holding a rather large baking tray covered with foil. He put the tray on the floor of the backseat. Why on earth would he come to his house to pick up some food?

Ivan turned around to look at it. "Umm, Yao, what's in there? It smells—"

But Yao was already driving off, tires screeching

* * *

><p>"Got a plan?"<p>

Ludwig and Francis were already in the waiting room of the rather dark-looking law firm. Francis was flipping through an entertainment magazine, while Ludwig was staring solemnly ahead, waiting to be called.

"I was thinking of maybe talking about our customer service that goes beyond that of larger chains," Ludwig answered.

Francis raised a delicate eyebrow. "Really? Ludwig, you've _always_ said that. It's _really_ boring." He flipped his hair. "Why don't I add in some of my natural French charm?"

Ludwig scowled. "Francis, Mr. Bryant is a _man_."

"Ah! But my good looks can easily make a straight flower bend a little." He chuckled and went back to reading the magazine.

Ludwig groaned and shook his head. Maybe there was some truth in what Francis said. After all, he was shockingly one of the top salesmen in the branch.

The receptionist came out. "Mr. Beilschmidt and Mr. Bonnefoy, Mr. Bryant can see you now."

* * *

><p>By now, Toris and Feliks were heading through the empty hallways of the high school, all of the students already in class. Toris' face was clear, except for a few faint tear streaks. To his confusion, Feliks was acting a little jittery, walking at a much brisker pace than Toris and his eyes darting everywhere.<p>

"So, just talk about our prices and customer service and all of that, right?" said Toris.

Feliks nodded. "Y-yeah," he said. "And don't forget charm! Everyone loves that."

"Alright then. Feliks, you'll help me out, right?"

"I hope so."

Those words were rather ominous, but Toris didn't question them.

They finally reached the main office. The secretary looked up at them from her desk and smiled.

"Hello, you must be the paper representatives from Herozone," she said. "Unfortunately, the business office is out on a small break, but they'll be back in a few minutes. You can stay here if you'd like. May I take your names?"

"I'm Toris. Toris Lorinaitis," he said.

She scribbled down his name and looked at Feliks. "And you, sir?"

"Feliks?"

The poor blond had hidden behind Toris and started to shake a little.

"I-I'm F-Feliks Łukasiewicz," he said.

"Umm, how do you spell your last name, sir?"

"Uhh, umm, Ł-u-k-a—"

Toris stepped forward. "Here, I'll write it down." He took the small pad and wrote down Feliks' full name (since she had also misspelled Feliks as "Felix"). "There you go," he said.

The secretary looked at the pad. "Hmm, interesting last name. Well, you can take a seat over there." She gestured over a couple of chairs surrounding a TV.

"Feliks, are you okay?" Toris asked, sitting down.

"I'm fine," the blond muttered, grabbing the giant wolf plush that was draped around the chair and hugging it around the neck. "I'm just not that good with new people," he added.

Toris gulped. Oh great, he was going to have to go out on his first sales-call _alone_.

"Um, sirs, the business secretaries are in. Their offices are that way."

Toris sighed and got up. "Okay, Feliks, come on."

Feliks followed him into the office, dragging the giant wolf behind him.

* * *

><p>Next chapter, we'll finally get to see the results of the sales-calls and as well as more RoChu and USUK hints ;P Oh, and did I mention LietPol and Spamano too?<p>

Read and review, peeps! Read and review!

See ya!


	5. Chapter 5

Eeeee! I finally finished this one. I don't really had much to say, except that the beginning was kinda hard to write, but it just flowed as I sat down and wrote. Also, I have finals next week. Which sucks. :( So, don't be surprised if I don't post anything.

This chapter is also pretty darned long. It's over 5,000+!

Also, THANK YOU EVERYONE for all of the nice reviews and favs and alerts! Let's get the review count to over 15! No...20! :D

A big thank you to my friend Nadiya for the translation of "sunflower" into Russian. (It's _podsolnuh_, Подсолнух. But you'll see that later!)

**Some warnings for this chapter:** Some language, implied sex, LietPol, EstLat, and RoChu fluff, USUK drama, aaaaand I think that's it.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

* * *

><p>The psyche hospital had an empty feeling to it. The walls were white, all white. Arthur could hear his and Alfred's footsteps on the cold floor, as they came out of the office.<p>

"Whoo-hoo!" exclaimed Alfred, pumping his fist in the air. "Artie, we did it! We did it, man!"

"Shhh!" shushed Arthur. "Alfred, do you have any idea how much your voice _echoes_ around here?"

Alfred rolled his eyes. "Geez, can't a guy be excited about a sale?" he said. "Artie, this sale is _huge_! Imagine if they decided to switch to us for _all_ of their paper needs!"

"Pipe down!" Arthur hissed. "Don't you go talking about something like that in here! Just wait until we get to the car!"

Alfred laughed. "Fine, fine! I'll wait."

They walked for a few more paces.

"Hey, Alfred, what about—Alfred?"

Arthur thought that he was walking beside him the entire time. But when he turned around to speak to him, the blond was gone.

"Alfred?" he asked. _"Alfred!"_ He ran down the hall, looking this way and that for his business associate. With Alfred's child-like mentality, who knows what might've happened by now, especially since they were in a psyche hospital of all places (the business part of a psyche hospital, but a psyche hospital nonetheless!). He could've gotten himself hurt, or worse, done something to lose the sale. Like, that one time where he tripped his would-be future client into a water fountain and thought it was a joke.

"Alfred? Oh God, where'd you go—"

A straitjacket was slipped over his chest, and someone was tightening the straps up in the back.

"AHHHHHH!"

"Gotcha! Hahahaha!"

Arthur tried to whirl around, but the jacket held fast, and he tripped over his own feet, falling into the arms of—

"_ALFRED!"_

The blond beamed as he held Arthur in his arms, even though Arthur squirmed with all his might.

"Ha! It's like we're in those really cheesy romance movies from the 40s or something," chuckled Alfred. "Now, how about if you give me a kiss?" He pursed his lips.

Arthur have him a look of horror. "EW! No! No! Get away from me, you wanker! You wouldn't even—"

"Uhh, young men?"

To Arthur's relief, a nurse—not much older than both of them—walked down the hallway with a look of disapproval on his face. Alfred released Arthur; Arthur wretched himself away from the damned straitjacket.

The nurse held out his hand. "Give that to me," he said exasperatedly.

Arthur handed the straitjacket to him, a blush of embarrassment creeping in his face. "S-sorry," he mumbled.

The nurse sighed. "The straitjacket is _not_ a toy. Can you guys walk to the exit, or do I have to escort you there?"

"Oh, no problem. We can find it on our own." Alfred's face still had the ghost of a grin on it, as much as he tried to look serious.

The nurse narrowed his eyes at them but continued walking down the hall.

"You _git_!" hissed Arthur when they had walked out of the waiting room. "Just _what_ were you thinking?"

"Pff, I was just having a little bit of fun!" said Alfred. "Besides, it's not like I was hurting anyone or anything."

"You were acting like a complete and utter child, and you humiliated me _and_ the company! We could've lost the account, you know—"

"But we didn't, Artie. God, you could be such a prude sometimes. But _I still love you_!" He put his arm over his shoulder.

Arthur slapped him away. "What are you doing?"

"What? I thought we were bfs!" Alfred opened the car door and sat inside. "I mean, come _on_, dude! After all—"

"We are _not_ together, Alfred!" exclaimed Arthur, slamming the door. "_How_ many times have I told you that we're—"

"Oh! Oh, what am I? Just a _fling_?" snapped Alfred, putting his petal on the gas and zooming out of the parking lot. "Artie, we've done it, like—"

"I don't need a reminder!"

"And you call me sometimes when you get lonely and—"

"_Al!"_

Alfred sighed.

"Artie, you know, we've been on-again off-again for _such_ a long time," he said. "I...I just want this to _go_ somewhere you know. I don't want it to be just a 'friends with benefits' thing. I want a relationship."

Arthur stared unreadably out the window. Ever since that last Christmas party when he and Alfred had gotten drunk and...done some things in his office, Alfred had pushed for a relationship between the two of them for the longest time. Arthur had a bizarre feeling that Alfred had liked him for a long time before that—the constant sales-calls, the awkward conversations, the _promotion_.

And being honest, Arthur did, in fact, have feelings for Alfred. He didn't know when they started, but they were feelings alright.

"Alfred, I _do_ want a relationship. But the thing is, we're just too different. I'm mature and rational, like an adult. And you are...spontaneous and...naïve like a child."

"_Naïve?" _sputtered Alfred. "I am _not_ naïve! And besides, we could always work these differences out! I know plenty of relationships that have."

"We're just _too_ different! Honestly, have you even—"

"You won't even _try_!" Alfred exclaimed. "Who's being the mature one now?"

Arthur huffed. "See! Alfred, you could be such a _child_. There's no way I would even _want_ to date you!" he snapped.

Alfred's blue eyes widened.

"Imma...?" Alfred shook his head, staring straight at the road. That had to hurt; his eyes started to shine with tears.

And that struck at Arthur's heart. He felt his stomach drop in shame. Oh God, oh God, why did he say that? Why? Whywhywhywhy?

"Al," he said. "Al, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Alfred said nothing.

"Al? I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

Still nothing.

"Al..." Arthur whispered. He looked out the window, dreading what was left of the lonely car ride.

* * *

><p>"Yao Yao! Look look!"<p>

Ivan sprinted over to a pen where a litter of puppies were playing and falling on top of each other. He put his hands over the pen's fence and giggled as the puppies licked him.

"They're so cute, da?"

Yao set down the baking tray on his seat and went over to the Russian. He...actually wasn't all that bad, even if his smile was a little creepy.

For an animal shelter, Briards and Buddies was incredibly clean and didn't smell at all. All of the dogs were in big, spacious kennels, and there was even a small area filled with toys where all of the dogs could play together. The main office had the litter of puppies playing in a corner and a cat stalking the reception desk.

Ivan picked up a puppy—a floppy-eared yellow corgi that was chewing on his wrist—and held it up to Yao.

"I would like to call her Podsolnuh, because her fur reminds me of a sunflower. Isn't she cute, Yao Yao?"

The puppy sneezed in Yao's face.

"Aiyah! Now I have dog germs on my face!" Yao rubbed his face with the back of his sleeve.

Ivan giggled. "That was funny."

Yao shot a glare at him.

"Sirs, Miss Coleman is ready for you," said the receptionist, who had a smile on her face as well.

Yao continued to glare at Ivan as he picked up the baking tray and walked inside. He turned around when he realized that Ivan wasn't following him.

"Ivan...?"

"Sir, you can't bring the puppy inside the office."

And Ivan had the most depressed and saddest frown on his face.

"But she's _just so cute_!"

* * *

><p>Everyone laughed. Well, almost everyone. Lovino sat there, glaring at Antonio.<p>

"Well, you are most certainly the most hilarious salesman ever to walk through here, Mr. Carriedo," said Mr. Chandler, the business administrator at the country club.

"_Gracias_, Mr. Chandler," said Antonio.

"Yeah, he's hilarious," Lovino muttered. _"Ow!"_

Antonio stepped on his foot, a smile still on his face.

"Mr. Chandler, we understand if you want to stick with Office Depot," Antonio continued. "But just in case you guys want a change—" He pulled out a business card from his wallet. "—here's my card. I hope to do business with you soon."

Mr. Chandler looked at the card for a few moments.

"You know what? Forget Office Depot—they have the golf course in Newton anyways." He pocketed Antonio's card and shook both of their hands. "It was great fun talking to you guys."

"You too, Mr. Chandler," said Antonio. Lovino smiled and nodded, wincing slightly at the pain in his foot.

"So, will you fax me my contract?" Mr. Chandler asked, getting up and opening the door for them.

"Yes, and we could work out all of the details over the phone or e-mail, if you like," said Antonio. "Thanks again, Mr. Chandler."

"No, thank _you_. I'll definitely call you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye, Mr. Chandler."

As the door closed behind them, Antonio let out a _"Yes!"_

Lovino rolled his eyes. So..._he_ wasn't the one to make the sale. He looked at the walls, which were full of portraits of the past country club presidents or chairman or other rich important people. He could feel Antonio grinning at him.

"_...What?"_ Lovino asked, a blush starting to creep into his face.

"You know what I'm thinking, don't you, _Lovito_?" Antonio said.

Lovino tried not to look at him. "You made the sale."

"Yes?"

"So that means..."

"You know what it means."

"Shut up, or I'll steal a golf cart and run you over."

Antonio chuckled.

As they walked in the parking lot, Antonio came up from behind Lovino and swooped him into his arms. Lovino punched his chest.

"Put me down, you son of a—"

Antonio kissed him to shut him up. As much as Lovino hated it, he clutched his shirt, slipping his tongue into his mouth.

Antonio put Lovino's in the passenger's seat, and then they drove away.

* * *

><p>"While our paper prices might be a bit higher than all of the other chains, we make it up with our superior customer service," Ludwig said. "In fact, I do believe that we have a salesman who has never lost one client, even if he is...rather unorthodox."<p>

The lawyer's office was even darker than his waiting room, with giant books on the shelves and various certificates and degrees hanging on the walls. Mr. Bryant was a middle-aged, intimidating-looking lawyer. But not as intimidating as Ludwig. No one was as intimidating as Ludwig. Except for maybe that other salesman at the Albany branch. He was Swedish or something...

Mr. Bryant leaned back in his chair. "That may be true, Mr...?"

"Beilschmidt."

"Mr. Beilschmidt. That may be true, but frankly, Office Depot has much better deals and their pricing seems to fit our business."

Ludwig blinked. A tough one...

Francis smiled. "But are you sure you are really _happy_ with Office Depot?" he purred, suddenly sounding husky. "While Office Depot may have good..._pricing_, each of our employees treat their clients like families. _I_, for one, treat my clients...even _closer_ than family." As Francis spoke, his voice softened and turned almost _seductive_-like.

Ludwig shot him a warning glance. _"Francis."_

Mr. Bryant—to Ludwig's shock—leaned forward. "Really, Mr. Bonnefoy?" he whispered. "Even _closer_?"

"_Oui_. In my opinion, the bond between client and salesman is very important." Francis flipped his hair and winked.

Ludwig just sat there, wondering how the hell the meeting took this turn...

"I do believe I have seen you before, Mr. Bryant. Do you go into the city very often?"

Mr. Bryant blushed. "Occasionally," he said. He leaned back, hoping to hide his expression in shadow. "I think I've seen you too."

Francis' smile turned into a wolf-like grin. "Ah! I remember. You were at Lonely Lobos, weren't you?"

_Lonely Lobos?_ Ludwig had heard the name. Nearly everyone in the office knew the name. It was a gay singles bar in Boston.

Mr. Bryant turned beet-red. "Ahhh, I-I might've been there," he said. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

Francis smirked.

"In that case, how would you like to sign with us?" he asked. "I can guarantee you won't regret it."

Ludwig put his hands on his face. This was the most bizarre thing he had ever witnessed.

* * *

><p>"Of c-course we could do p-prom invitations," said Toris. "W-we can do anything i-involving paper."<p>

Both Toris and Feliks were sitting in the office, across the desk from the business managers of the school. Feliks had buried his face in the back of the chair and still clutched the wolf to his chest. He didn't even say a word when he walked into the room, didn't even _try_ to help Toris, and Toris was stuttering as much as Raivis.

"You said, you're a new salesman at Herozone, Mr. Lorinaitis?" asked Mrs. Gonziano.

"Y-yes, I am!" he exclaimed, trying to sound happy. "Th-that means I-I don't have a l-lot of clients, s-so I could focus and p-personalize my time w-with every one of them!" He sounded so stupid...

"Hmm, what about your prices? The only reason we stuck with Office Depot was because of their prices. Can you offer the same price?"

"W-well, o-our prices m-may b-be a b-b-it h-higher than Office D-Depot," he said. He wiped some sweat on his forehead with the back of his arm. "B-but w-we have good cu-customer service!" He smiled weakly.

"I've heard about Herozone's customer relations," Mr. Rodriguez remarked.

"They're the best in the...East..." said Toris. Oh, why didn't East fit as well as West?

Mrs. Gonziano snorted. "I hope that you're customer service is good to make up for your prices."

"It's _awesome_!" Toris yelled, flinching when he heard the loudness of his voice.

Mr. Rodriguez sighed. "Well, it—"

"OH MY GOD, this is, like, _so_ sad!"

Feliks threw the stuffed wolf behind him and sat up straight, fire burning in his eyes. He...actually looked quite frightening...

"Look, Toris is just a newbie, so he doesn't really know much."

"_Hey!"_

"But, if you sign with Herozone, I guarantee that you will be treated with the utmost respect and care," Feliks continued fiercely. "In the four years that I've worked with Herozone, I have not lost _one_ customer. _Not one. _Why? Because I like to talk with my clients more about their lives and less about work. People like someone who they could just _talk_ to with no strings attached, and they do _not_ like to be treated like they're just an object to get business from."

Everyone just stared at Feliks. Feliks smirked knowingly and crossed his legs.

"W-well..." said Mrs. Gonziano. "I-I suppose, if you put it that way...we _can_ sign with you."

Feliks looked sideways at Toris. "You _totally_ owe me one." He giggled.

* * *

><p>Raivis and Eduard did not look at each other in the car ride back. Not since what happened at that real estate group...<p>

"Well...at least we got the account," Raivis began, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, only because I promised them tech support if anything bad happens with their computers. _And_ I gave them twenty percent off for the first six months." Eduard sighed. "Raivis...whhhhhhy?"

"Why, what?" Raivis asked, even though he knew what Eduard would say.

"Why does _everyone_ think that we're together? Seriously, the woman at the real estate company thought that we were cute together! I mean, can't two guys hang out without people thinking that they're gay?"

Raivis blushed a little. "They should. But, we hang around a lot. No wonder everything thinks that we are."

"Raivis, we're _not_!"

"I know. But I'm just saying. We don't talk with a lot of people in the office aside from each other. People just assume things like that."

Eduard shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"Maybe, we should stop hanging around each other, if you don't want people thinking that we're dating."

"No!" Eduard exclaimed. "I like talking to you. You're a great friend, Raivis."

Raivis' blush deepened.

"You're a good friend too."

* * *

><p>"Do I look like a man who would leave his customers laying around to die in the dust? No," Ivan said brightly.<p>

Miss Coleman smiled. "You seem like a kind man, Mr. Braginsky. And you too, Mr. Wang."

Yao nodded, the baking tray resting on his lap. "Thank you."

"Also! We have a lot of unused paper in our company, but unfortunately, we haven't quite caught on with the 'going green' philosophy like most of America. This means, we, sadly, have to throw away a ton of paper. If you need, we could gladly donate some of the paper to the rescue. I'm sure the dogs would love to use it for potty training."

"Oh! I had no idea that you had that much extra paper. We would _love_ to use it!" Miss Coleman's little terrier let out a quick bark and went up to Yao, sitting down and staring at the tray.

"Hush, Skippy! Don't beg!"

"That's such a cute dog!" said Yao. "Would he be interested in some food I made?" He pulled back the foil on the baking tray, and the room filled with the aroma of sweet bread and pork. Small little dumpling laid in neat rows and smelled delicious. "I'm sure that the ingredients are safe for dogs."

"Yao Yao, what _is_ that?" Ivan asked, his mouth starting to water.

"Cha siu bao," Yao replied. "Pork dumplings."

"Ooooh! Those look fresh!" Miss Coleman said. "I'm sure Skippy would love one."

Yao gave the dog one of the dumplings, and the dog went over to his bed and laid down, chewing on it.

"Yao Yao, can I have one too?"

"And me too, if it isn't much trouble..."

"Of course." He gave both of them a dumpling.

"These are _fantastic_!" Ivan exclaimed, his mouth still stuffed with half of his dumpling. "Can I have some more?"

"Yes!"

"Can I have another, too?"

"Of course!"

While Miss Coleman was chewing on her fourth dumpling, Yao asked, "So, how about that sale?"

"Mmmf—what sale? Oh!" Miss Coleman swallowed. "Yeah, that. I'm _totally_ gonna have the shelter sign with you guys!"

Ivan and Yao looked at each other and smiled.

* * *

><p>Lovino rolled over in the bed and looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was a complete mess, there were red marks all over his neck and chest (thanks to the bastard), and his cheeks were flushed. He was wrapped in bed sheets.<p>

Antonio swung an arm around his waist, pulling the Italian closer to him. "Hmm...that was good..." he whispered in his ear.

Lovino smiled slightly. "I-I guess," he said, blushing slightly. "I'm going to have to do something about these hickeys before we go back to work."

Antonio's eyes widened. "What?"

"The hickeys. You gave me a lot of them. Ass."

Antonio shook his head. "No, no, not that. Lovi, what time is it?"

Lovino looked at the bedside clock. "It's two..."

"Oh _shit_! We have to get back to work!"

"Oh my God, you're right!"

Lovino rolled out of bed and onto the floor. "Ow! Crap!"

Antonio threw his clothes at him. "Come _on_! We _have_ to get back to work before anyone notices that we're gone!"

* * *

><p>It was quite a refreshing March day so Feliks decided for them to eat their ice cream outside on the store's patio, watching all of the people walk by them. Feliks licked his strawberry ice cream and looked at Toris. Toris bit through his chocolate-covered waffle cone and looked back at Feliks.<p>

"Hey, Feliks?" he said.

"Hmm?" Feliks continued licking.

"Thanks for...all this." Toris gestured to the entire ice cream shop. "You know, it really helped me."

Feliks grinned. "No prob. You still totally owe me one, you know that right?"

Toris sighed. "Yes, I do."

Feliks giggled. "But you also know, that I'm, like, paying for this, right?"

Toris blinked. "Feliks, I couldn't do that! I'll pay—"

"Nope!" Feliks scooped up a small spoonful of his ice cream and flung it at Toris' cheek.

"Hey! Feliks, what was that for?"

"So that you know that I'm paying for this." Feliks took another spoonful and ate it. "Toris, you have _sooo_ much chocolate on your mouth." He laughed.

Toris blushed. "Wh—? I do?" he said, oblivious to the chocolate smeared all over his mouth and cheeks.

"Yeah. You look like a five-year-old. Here." Feliks grabbed a few napkins from the little dispenser and began to wipe Toris' face. Toris' blush deepened.

"Umm, Feliks?"

"Yeah, what?" Feliks continued to rub the chocolate off his face.

"Ahh, never mind."

After a few minutes, Feliks removed his napkin, some red appearing on his cheeks. "There! It still looks a little brown, but most people won't notice."

Toris mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that, Toris?"

"Umm, thanks, Feliks..."

"No problem, Toris."

* * *

><p>Alfred had not said a word to Arthur since they had gotten into the car. Arthur had stared out the window the entire time, muttering apologies to Alfred.<p>

"You two are back," Natalia said, as they came in. "How did it go?"

"Good," grunted Alfred. And then he went and shut himself into his office, closing the blinds.

Natalia looked at Arthur. "Did anything happen on the sales-call? Alfred is normally not this sad."

Arthur shrugged. "Some things happened. That was it."

"Were _you_ involved in any way?"

Arthur glared at her. "Natalia, it's personal."

"I was merely asking."

Arthur sat down and put his head on his desk, unaware that half the office was looking at him.

A few minutes afterwards, Lovino and Antonio rushed in an incredibly hurried state.

"A-are we late?" Lovino demanded, tying his tie back.

Arthur raised his head. "No, you're the second group here."

Antonio cocked his head to the side. "Arthur, are you okay? You look sick."

_Did_ he look sick? He didn't even know, or cared. He only cared that he hurt Alfred, and he knew that he couldn't take back what he said. He had just hurt the only person he cared about...

"I'm fine," Arthur muttered.

"No, you're not," said Antonio. "I can tell."

"It's not your business," Arthur growled.

Antonio shrugged.

A burst of bubbly laughter reached Arthur's ears. Toris and Feliks walked in, looking at each other with bright eyes. Those two weren't together yet, but give them enough time...

Feliks pulled Toris' arm towards his desk. "Toris, come _on_!"

"Feliks, why're you dragging me?"

"Because, like, I've decided to give you a nickname! Let's go look for one!"

"...On the computer?"

"Totally!"

Arthur chuckled.

Ivan and Yao came in. Ivan was holding the baking tray while Yao ran behind him.

"Give those back, Ivan! I don't want—AHHH!"

Yao and Ivan were suddenly overrun by Yong Soo, Elizabeta, Katyusha, Feliciano, and Feliks (forgetting about his nickname search) grabbing at the baking tray and pushing Yao and Ivan.

"Me! Me! I want some."

"But _I got here _first!"

"Like, _shove off_! I want that one!"

"Dumplings were invented in Korea, but Chinese ones are great too!"

Ivan set the baking tray down on the reception's desk (able to avoid all of the clambering hands due to his height) and ran for his life.

"_Now_ you see why I didn't want to give those out?" Yao said, putting his hands on his hips and glaring at Ivan. "It's utter chaos when I bring food in here."

"S-sorry, Yao! But they were just so good, and I thought that sharing them would be good for everyone."

Yao rolled his eyes. Soon, the crowd had gotten at least one bun and went back to their desks.

"Are those the baked bao buns?" asked Francis, peering into the abandoned tray. "Damn, there aren't any left!"

"We would have gotten here faster if you hadn't decided to have a little 'chat' with Mr. Bryant afterwards!" Ludwig said.

"The customer is important too, Ludwig!"

Alfred finally unlocked his office and looked outside. "Hey, is everyone back yet?" he asked. His eyes were rather puffy and red.

"Yes." Arthur stood up. "Alfred—"

"Looks like it!" Alfred smiled. "O-okay, salespeople! Conference room, 'k?" He ran inside.

Once everyone was seated inside, Alfred said, "Sooo! Can you all tell me how everyone did? Ahhh, Luddy, Francis, how about you?"

"We made the sale," Ludwig said stiffly, his eye twitching slighty.

"It went magnificent!" Francis added, looking very smug.

"That's great, guys! Anyone else want to go next?" Alfred looked around the room. "Or I'll pick someone!"

"Yao Yao's and mine went well," said Ivan, chewing on a dumpling.

"Awesome! Aaaand—"

"T-toris—mmmrf—like, was—mmmph—really good for his first call!" Feliks said, swallowing finally. Toris gave Feliks an incredulous glance.

"Antonio made the sale," Lovino said, trying very hard not to look at him. Antonio beamed.

"And you all know how _my_ sale went," Alfred said.

Everyone gave each other concerned looks and muttered to each other. As cocky as Alfred could be, he normally acknowledged his sales partner.

"Today was a success, guys! You're all so amazing! I love you all! Tomorrow, I'm buying you all pizza! This meeting is OVEERRRRR!"

Everyone cheered and whooped and gave each other high-fives. Arthur stood up.

"Al, I need to talk to you—"

Eduard and Raivis stood in the doorway to the conference room, looking absolutely mortified.

"They forgot about us again," muttered Raivis.

"Oh, _come on_!"

* * *

><p>Oooooh. Dramaz! :D Read and review, peoples, read and review!<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Yaaaay! I finally finished this _and_ finals! Now I'll definitely be posting things a lot more. Sorry for the random-ness of this chapter. I just wanted to build it up for what will happen next.

Thanks for the reviews and alerts and favs, guys! You make me feel loved. :3

**Warnings:** Just language and things of a sexual nature and implied EstoniaxGinjika!Macbook (hehe)

I DON'T OWN HETALIA OR THE OFFICE

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

* * *

><p>A month and a half later, Feliks rushed work, dragging his briefcase behind him. He peeked into Alfred's office.<p>

"Alfred! I'm so, so, _so_ sorry I'm late! There was, like, an accident on the way to work, and..." he said. "...Alfred?"

Alfred waved him away. "Yeah, yeah. It's okay, Feliks. You haven't really missed much anyways."

Feliks nodded, although he couldn't help but feel concerned for the other blond. Ever since they had gotten back from those sales-calls, Alfred had looked dull and depressed, his eyes and hair no longer having any spark to them. No one knew what happened, but Arthur and Alfred wouldn't say a word or speak to each other.

Feliks walked over to his desk. "Hey, Liet."

After the sales-call, Feliks immediately took Toris to the Internet to search for a nickname for him. Toris sounded cute, but Feliks wanted something even cuter. From that search, Feliks found out that Toris was Lithuanian, with Lithuanian ancestors, and that the Lithuanian name for Lithuania was Lietuva, and cutting out the "Liet" from Lietuva was just totally adorable!

Toris looked up and blushed furiously. "H-h-h-hey, Feliks." He looked away, concentrating on his screen. There was something about Toris that looked different from the last time that Feliks saw him...

"_Liet!"_

Toris turned around. "What?"

"You got your cast taken off! Oh my gosh! That's, like, so exciting!" Feliks went over and threw his arms around his friend.

And Toris pushed him away.

Feliks blinked.

"Liet, what was that for?" he asked.

Toris shook his head. "It's for nothing, Feliks. Just...don't hug me, okay? It makes me feel weird..."

"But...you've always let me hug you, no matter what."

"Well, maybe I don't want you to hug me today, okay? God..." Toris turned away from him, still blushing.

Feliks fell back into his chair and went back to work, wondering what was going on with his Liet.

* * *

><p>Elizabeta twirled the phone cord around her finger. One ring, two rings, three rings. The anticipation was just killing her. They texted each other nearly everyday, but it just wasn't the same.<p>

On the fourth ring, he finally picked up.

"Elizabeta?"

"ROD!" she exclaimed, clutching the phone.

"Ow! Don't yell so much; you nearly broke my ear drum."

"Well, happy anniversary to you too."

Roderich sighed. "I apologize. Happy anniversary, Elizabeta."

She giggled. "I can't believe that it's already been three years," she said. "You were so adorable when you asked me out, with your flowers and that little song you wrote for me on the piano."

"...You're making me blush."

"But that was honestly the sweetest thing ever, Roderich. I wish I had recorded you."

Roderich chuckled. "Is Alfred still not letting you take time off to see me?" he asked. Traditionally, Alfred would have easily let Elizabeta take the day off to go visit Roderich (since Roderich's boss was a prick and wouldn't let him do anything), but Alfred had said a resounding, "no" to her this year.

"No. He looks really beaten-up recently, and like, dead. I think something happened between him and Arthur."

"What have I told you about assuming things, Elizabeta?"

"But seriously! Ever since they went on a sales-call a month ago, they've both been acting really depressed. Alfred shuts himself up in his office, and Arthur's just...sad-looking. It's really sad."

Roderich sighed again. He often had a habit of sighing when speaking to Elizabeta.

"Anyhow, can you still come over on the weekend?"

"Oh! Of course! I wouldn't miss seeing you for the world! I can't wait to give you your gift!"

"And I can't wait to give you yours..." Roderich said.

A silence.

"I miss you, Elizabeta."

"I miss you too, Roddy. I really do."

More silence.

"Has anything changed in Cambridge since the last time we talked?"

"No, not really. I think that there might be something going on between Feliks and Toris, 'cause they hang around each other a lot, but Feliks hasn't said anything. Katyusha's still too shy to say anything to Marvin. Lovino and Antonio still think nobody knows about them. So, I guess you could say everything's normal. How about you, is anything going on in Albany?"

"No, except for one thing. Mathias came into work drunk one time and Gilbert just _let him work_! Honestly, I don't understand _why_ that man still has his job."

"Mathias?"

"No, Gilbert. Half of the time we watch movies and the other half we have meetings where Gilbert talks about how 'awesome' he is." Roderich scoffed.

"...But isn't your branch one of the most profitable in the company?"

"Yes, but—Hey, _hey_! What are you doing?"

Sharp laughter was heard on Roderich's line. Elizabeta groaned.

"Are you talking to your girlfriend?" asked a rough voice. "Hey! I wanna talk to her!"

"Sh-shut up! I'm—_Gilbert_!"

Gilbert chuckled.

"Hellooooooo, Lizzie!" he proclaimed in a sing-song voice. "How've you been, my darling?"

"Gilbert, put Roderich back on!" Elizabeta growled. In the background, she could heard Roderich shouting something.

"Uhhhh, no," he said. "I don't want to. Why aren't you over here for your—?"

"Gilbert, that's _none of your business_!" she exclaimed. "Now, put Roderich back on the line or _I will hang up_!"

"Ohhhhhh! Lizzie, let me write you a beautiful song on my piano, which I jack off to on a daily basis!"

"_Fuck off_!"

"I'm sorry, Elizabeta. E-mail me. Please."

Elizabeta hung up, putting her hand to her forehead and sighing.

A few minutes later her phone rang again. _"GILBERT, THIS ISN'T—"_

"Elizabeta, it's me."

"Oh. Sorry, Roderich."

* * *

><p>"We were waiting for you, Eduard," said Matthew.<p>

"S-sorry, Marty. Something was wrong with the computers." Eduard took his seat and sat down next to Raivis. Today Matthew would talk about safety and how to spend work time and basically addressed issues going on in the office. Naturally, no one listened to him.

"First off, there's safety," began Matthew, looking at everyone in the conference room, but particularly settling his gaze on a certain someone. "I'll just like to say that guns _are not allowed in the office_."

Vash narrowed his eyes. "Martin, those are for protection. And besides, I have never once discharged a gun in here."

"Yes, but you have them placed _everywhere_. I found one under the toilet one time."

"Why were you even _looking_ under the toilet in the first place?"

"I dropped my glasses, that's why, and then I found it under there."

"Well, as long as you don't discharge it. Keep it there." Vash shrugged.

"He has a good point, Vash!" Katyusha said. "Don't you remember when I found a handgun in the filing cabinet?"

"Well, you didn't go on a shooting rampage, did you? No. Guns aren't killers. I'll take them away only when one of them goes off somehow."

"No, Vash. You have to take them away right _now_. They go against corporate rules, and you already have two strikes."

Vash glared at him.

"Fine," he muttered.

"Okay then. Another pressing issue that has come to my attention is time-wasters. These involve taking over five minutes at the water cooler, taking personal calls, and using the computer for..." Matthew blushed. "Ahh, inappropriate things."

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" Elizabeta asked. "Have you been spying on our computers?"

Uproar broke out.

"Hey!"

"You can't do that!"

"That's really uncool!"

Matthew raised his hands. "Hey, hey, I'm only repeating what I'm seeing, Lizzie. Especially those...interesting Japanese cartoons you watch with Kiku."

Elizabeta blushed and Kiku slid off his chair and onto the floor in embarrassment.

Feliciano laughed. "That's it? Those are _nothing _compared to the magazines I've seen when I go to Ludwig's place—"

Ludwig stood up immediately. _"FELICIANO!"_ he screamed, going as red as his boyfriend's hair.

"What, Ludwig? I was only pointing out to them—Please sit down!" Feliciano tugged on his arm and Ludwig sat back down, burying his head in his hands.

Matthew sighed. "I'm also referring to _you_, Feliciano."

Now it was the Italian's turn to blush. "Wh-what? Why? I haven't done anything wrong! I don't look at dirty porn!"

"I see you spending half your time online shopping instead of working."

"They're _breaks_! They're just breaks, Malvin! I get really, really bored at work! Please don't hurt me! I can't afford to lose this job!"

"I'm not firing you, Feliciano. I'm just saying."

"P-Please don't fire me!"

"I'm not!"

Feliciano looked like he was about to cry. He clutched Ludwig's shirt and buried his head in his side.

"Oh _come on_, Matt! Is watching porn on the computer _really_ that bad?"

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Alfred, come on. Watch porn on your _home_ computer. Not at work. It wastes time."

"Whoever said I watched porn on my work computer?" Alfred leaned back, crossing his legs. "Dude, dude, when I discovered Steven Colbert's version of 'Friday', I swear to God, I didn't work for a week. And look, nothing bad's happened. It's not like they're shutting us down or anything."

Arthur snorted, shaking his head. Alfred ignored him.

"Al, come _on_. It has nothing to do with—"

Alfred stood up and went to the front of the room. "Okaaay, guys. I'm so sorry that my brother's just an awful speaker! Meeting's over! Back to work! Or _else_!"

Matthew tilted his head to the side, as people began shuffling out back to their desks. Alfred never wanted to go back to work...

* * *

><p>So far, it was just Toris and Eduard eating at their desks. Toris wanted to get away from Feliks as much as possible, and Eduard tried to figure out what was wrong with his computer. Everyone else sat either in the break room or in the office's small kitchen.<p>

Toris looked at Eduard. He seemed pretty busy with his computer. Toris just needed someone to talk to about this. Maybe Eduard wouldn't pay attention.

"Ed?"

Eduard didn't even look up. "Mmhmm?"

"Can I talk to you about something?"

He looked up. "Oh, sure. What's the problem, Toris?"

Toris blushed slightly. Geez, everyone seemed to be blushing today.

"Umm," he began, "have you had any...well, _dreams_?"

The color drained from Eduard's face.

"_What?"_

"E-Eduard, are you okay?"

"Who told you about those?"

Toris shook his head. "I-I-I—"

"Did Raivis tell you about them? I told him not to say anything. But he just had to _blurt it out_!"

What the hell was he talking about?"

"Eduard—"

"My Macbook came onto _me_, okay? A-and besides, it's not my fault it turned into a pretty girl!"

"Whoa, whoa, you have dreams about your Macbook, Ed?"

Eduard's eyes grew wide.

"Uhh, umm, no. No, I don't. I was just...What're we talking about?" He chuckled nervously.

Toris just stared at him. "I was going to talk about _my_ dreams, Ed."

"O-oh! Haha. I-I thought that we were...Anyway, what about your dreams?"

Toris took a deep breath. "Okay. Can you promise you won't tell anyone?"

Eduard typed in a few things and pushed the keyboard away from him. "I promise. What's wrong? Does it have something to do with Feliks?"

Toris' blush deepened. "You figured that out?"

"Well, I could just _tell_ by the way you're pushing him away, even though you two've been hugging each other constantly."

"Oh. It just feels so weird for him to touch me after...can I just explain it to you?"

"Sure."

Toris shifted in his seat. "It sort of started after my sales-call with Feliks. At first, we were just...friends and stuff, you know. In the dreams. But recently...I...I've had these dreams about him that were...kinda...really inappropriate." That was an understatement. The dream he had last night involved skirts, handcuffs, and a hotel room.

Eduard raised an eyebrow. "You mean, like _sex dreams_?"

"I-I wouldn't go into so much detail, Ed."

Eduard blushed. "Okay then. Uhh, do you have any idea _why_ you're having these dreams?"

"That's why I'm asking you. I'm not gay or bi...At least, I don't think I am."

"Are you sure?"

"Nowadays you really can't know, can you?" Come to think of it, he was never really interested in dating as a teenager. Heck, the only time he had sex was with a one-night stand during college, and that was enough for him.

Eduard shrugged. "Maybe these dreams are something about your subconscious that you need to fix. Like a...a hidden desire or insecurity or something."

"...A hidden desire for Feliks?"

"I don't know, but I suppose that's a possibility. Or maybe it's something else that's bothering you, but your dream is portraying it as...something erotic."

Toris put his head on his desk. Great, so he could be bi.

"Well, if it goes away, then you have nothing to worry about," Eduard said, turning to his computer. "But don't take it out on Feliks. He's not doing anything wrong."

"Yeah, I guess."

Toris closed his eyes, trying to figure out how to deal with this happy, cross-dressing, blond problem.

* * *

><p>Near the end of the day, Matthew slipped into Alfred's office, closing the door gently behind him. Hs half-brother was at his desk, watching some stupid thing on YouTube or something. His eyes were glazed over.<p>

"Alfred, is everything alright?"

Alfred looked up. "Huh? What makes you think something's wrong?"

Matthew sat down. "You think I haven't noticed? Al, you haven't spoken to Arthur in _weeks_, and he's your assistant—"

"_Don't!"_ Alfred pointed at him. "Don't you _dare_ talk about him!"

"Last time I checked, you two were great friends, and now you barely speak to him. Alfred, what happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened."

"What?"

"Nothing happened."

"Alfred, you're not being very helpful."

"Well, _you're_ not either!"

"You do realize that corporate's considered shutting you down, right?"

Alfred leaned back in his chair. "I heard something about that."

Matthew sighed. "Alfred, if you and Arthur aren't working together, who's there to say that the branch won't even go into more decline?"

Alfred gulped. "Why do you even care? You're not even under my power."

"You're my brother. Of course I care about you."

Alfred was silent. And then, the unexpected happened. He got up, went over to Matthew, and threw his arms around his shoulders.

"Al...?"

"I'm sorry, Mattie." He tightened his hold on him. "It's just...it's just everything's been so crazy around here, with the branch closing and...and Arthur. A-Arthur said..." He buried his head in his shoulder.

Matthew awkwardly pat his head. "Al? It'll be okay. I'm sure it'll be okay."

Alfred sniffed. Oh God, was he _crying_? "M-Matt, A-Arthur s-said that he-he wouldn't want to d-date me. E-ever," he said. "H-How could he d-do that? I've been so nice to him...At least, I hope I have. I love him, Mattie. I really do."

"Why don't you talk to him?" asked Matthew. "If you really miss him so much, why don't you?"

Alfred sniffed. "I-It still h-hurts. I...I can't talk to him without thinking of his words..."

"Give it some time, Alfred. I'm sure it'll come around."

Alfred stood up, rubbing his eyes. "Wait, what'm I doing? I'm blubbering like a stupid teenager who got dumped by his girlfriend." He suddenly grew serious and stomped his foot. "From now on I'm going to act like the _real_ boss of Herozone Cambridge, and that's _me_!"

He threw open the door and ran out.

* * *

><p>Toris looked over at Feliks. The blond was chatting on the phone with a client and painting his nails a shocking shade of pink. He knew he should talk to Feliks, but he didn't know how to do it without being awkward. It was only a few minutes to five.<p>

Once Feliks put his phone down, Toris got up and walked over to him. He hesitated slightly, and then put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Feliks?"

Feliks looked up at him, smiling a little. "Heeey?"

"HEEEERE'S ALFRED!"

Toris shot back as if Feliks' shoulder was on fire. Alfred ran to the front of the office, grinning widely and panting.

"Alright, people. Sorry I'm late to the party. Tomorrow, you all will be wear casual clothes and come in here around ten, okay? Don't worry. I've got something awesome planned. Peace out!"

He went back inside his office. A few moments later, he stood in the doorway. "Ahh, Arthur, can you come in here?" he said, biting his lip. "It's...err, kinda important."

Arthur put his pencil down, looking genuinely surprised. He walked into the office, shutting the door.

Feliks looked back at Toris. "You wanted to say something, Liet?"

Toris shook his head, a blush returning to his cheeks. "N-no. It's nothing. S-see you later, Feliks." He slung his suitcase over his shoulder and walked out. Feliks stared after him, being left confused due to Toris' behavior. He resisted the urge to go up to Toris and slap him and demand what was wrong. But instead, he packed everything into his bag and left.

Around an hour after everyone had left, Arthur and Alfred left as well.

* * *

><p>The next day, Toris came into work wearing nothing but jeans and a shirt. He tried not to look at Feliks, who was wearing a plait miniskirt and a tight shirt.<p>

After everyone arrived, Alfred came out of his office, holding sheets of paper and passing them.

"Everyone, here are the directions to where we are going today! I guarantee that it will be a place of fun and whimsy. You guys can carpool if you want."

He handed a sheet to Toris. He looked at it, reading their destination.

"_Laser tag?"_

* * *

><p><strong>Believe it, people. See ya next time!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

Aghhhh, I really don't have much to say, except that this chapter was kinda hard to write. Dx I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to take this long. I really didn't.

Ah well, it's done now. I'm sorry if it's really too USUK, Liet and Po-centric. But I had to add Matthew in there somehow too. ;)

Oh, and the _part that's in italics_, signifies a flashback to that part when Arthur and Alfred had that meeting at the end of chapter 6.

And thanks a lot for the reviews and alerts and favs everyone! I love them all!

**Warnings:** HEAVY USUK, lots of mentions of sex and sexuality, language, and Rebecca Black's Friday.  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I don't own Hetalia or the Office.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

* * *

><p>Alfred beamed.<p>

"_Yeeeeeeessss_, that is correct, Toris! We will be laser tagging as a team-building exercise."

Toris looked at the directions. He hadn't gone laser tagging in years.

Feliks shot a glance in Toris' direction. He bit his lip, then went over to Feliciano to get a ride with him. Ivan smiled and went up to Toris.

"Do you need a ride?" he asked.

"Oh sure! I'd love to ride with you," Toris said. "Thank you, Ivan."

"No problem, Toris. Come now, Raivis. Toris, you can take shotgun."

Raivis squeaked as Ivan took his hand and followed him.

* * *

><p>"Toris, how are you?" Ivan said.<p>

Eduard and Katyusha were accidentally squishing Raivis in the back row. Ivan had turned on _Pan's Labyrinth_ for their enjoyment. They looked horrified.

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking," he replied.

Ivan glanced sideways at him. "Are you alright? You've been acting a little...funny."

Dammit. That man was perceptive. "In what way?"

"Well, you've been acting rather odd around Feliks. I thought you two were best friends."

"Umm, we were?" Toris said. "I didn't even notice."

"_Oh God, that's sick!"_ Eduard screamed, but unable to tear his eyes away from the screen.

"Don't try to deny it, Toris," Ivan said. He smiled. "I see everything."

Toris bit his lip. "Uhh, maybe I just want to hang out with other people instead of him," he said.

Ivan shrugged. "That sounds reasonable, but a little unrealistic. Most people just don't fall in and out of friendships that fast."

"Maybe _I _do!"

"_Holy cow, look at that blood!"_

* * *

><p><em>"IT'S FRIDAY, FRIDAY! GOTTA GET DOWN ON FRIDAY!"<em>

Ludwig felt like curling into a ball and putting his head down on the dashboard. Unfortunately, he was driving, and that would spell an accident. Kiku looked back at the two curiously.

_Maybe an accident would be better than listening to this..._

"Can you two keep it down back there?" he shouted.

"Like, what, Ludwig?" Feliks asked.

"I didn't get that, sorry," Feliciano said.

"Can you prease keep singing?" Kiku asked. "This song is rather interesting."

Oh, _why_ didn't Feliks get a ride with the new kid?

"_FUN FUN FUN FUN!"_

Oh mein Gott...

* * *

><p>"Here we are, everybody!" Alfred shouted as soon as they got inside. "LazerQuest! The Boston area's finest center for laser tag and fun!"<p>

Inside, the lights were set on low and bright neon lights ran along the walls. Down the hallway, there was a stairwell leading to a room for parties. The main room, however, was gigantic, holding both a small restaurant and an area filled with rows of various arcade games. Small groups of kids and families were there as well.

"Come now, everyone!" Alfred clapped his hands and led them into a brightly lit room to the right. "Let us begin our wonderful adventure!"

Toris sat down on one of the benches and waited for the small room to fill up with the rest of his employees. Ivan and Eduard sat next to him (Raivis was still reeling a bit from the movie). He looked behind him. Feliks talked with Elizabeta and made a glance in Toris' direction. Their eyes met, and Toris swore he saw something click in Feliks' before he returned to Lizzie. Toris did not notice Ivan's eyes narrowing at him. A rack of blue and red vests were on the side, along with blue and red guns. Two blue and red doors were right next to them.

After the entire room had been filled, the instructor, who reminded Toris of a squirrel, went up to the front.

"I'm assuming that you're all the Herozone group. You don't have any kids." He smiled nervously. No one smiled back.

"Eh. Anyways, in accordance with the team-building exercise that Mr. Jones suggested, we shall be playing a game of capture the flag. I'm sure you all know the basics of the game, you have to steal the flag of an enemy base and take it back to your own.

"You all are going to be separated into teams of ten, the blue team and the red team. Each of you are going to have to wear these vests that correspond to the color of your team." He slipped on a red vest and grabbed a gun. "The areas where you can be shot are your vests and gun. Whenever you shoot a member of the opposite team, your team gains 500 points. If you accidentally shoot a member of your team, you lost 1000 points. Also, when you're shot, you're gun is disabled for ten seconds. When your team successfully retrieves the others' flag, your team wins 25,000 points.

"Inside, it's going to be pretty dark, so I'm just going to read off some rules for your guys, and there's only two. No running and no tackling. I don't care what your excuse is, you can't pummel an opposite team member to the ground."

"Dammit!" Alfred exclaimed.

"So...that's the extent of my speech. Break yourself into teams, and then, give me a thumbs-up, Alfred, when you're ready to go."

"Alright!" Alfred got up and stood in the front. "_I_ will be the leader of the Red Team, because red is crimson, and crimson equals Harvard! Soooooo, who wants to be with me?"

No one stood up except for Marvin.

"I'll be with you, Alfred!" he said, going to join his brother.

Ivan stood up and went next to Alfred. "And I will be the leader of the Blue Team." He smiled at Raivis. "Would you like to be on my team, Raivis?"

Raivis shuddered. "Uhh, s-sure, Ivan."

"I'll b-be with Ivan then," Eduard said.

"Then...I guess I'll go with Ivan, too," Toris said. They both joined Ivan.

"I'm, like, heading with Alfred." Feliks headed for Alfred, shooting a quick glance towards Toris.

"I'm with Ivan." Arthur glared at Alfred before joining the rest of the Blue Team. Alfred pretended that he didn't exist. How strange. Toris swore that he talked with Alfred yesterday...

Eventually, both teams filled up. The Red Team consisted of Alfred, Feliks, Maddox, Elizabeta, Vash, Kiku, Ludwig, Feliciano, Francis, and Antonio. The Blue Team was Ivan, Raivis, Eduard, Toris, Katyusha, Natalia, Lovino, Yao, Yong Soo, and Arthur.

"We're totally going to kick your asses!" Alfred shouted, pointing his gun at them.

Toris slipped the blue vest over his head and stumbled forward from the weight of it until a strong hand grabbed the back of his shirt.

He blushed a little. "Th-thank you, Ivan! I almost fell there."

Ivan chuckled and pat his head. "Be careful there, little Toris." He turned around to say something to Katyusha, but then turned back to Toris.

"Hey, Toris?" he whispered.

"Hmm?" Toris looked up at him. He really was a tall guy.

"I just want to apologize for the mess that happened with Natalia. I don't know why I didn't say anything earlier, but I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get your wrist or your heart broken. It's just...Natalia is a little difficult, and I thought your dating her would make her smile more." He sighed.

"Hey." Toris put his hand on Ivan's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Ivan. It's in the past now."

Ivan smiled. "Well, if you can't have her, you know you can always have me!" He laughed and walked pass Toris.

Toris blinked and followed Ivan through the door.

* * *

><p>It was dark. Very dark. Arthur couldn't even see his hand in front of his face if it weren't for the fact that his vest glowed neon blue. Fog misted all around the area, and there were black pillars and arches and walls lit up with neon lights. It was all a great maze for Arthur. He could vaguely see the outlines of his other teammates.<p>

Suddenly, his vest and gun began to vibrate.

"_Who the bloody hell could have shot me that fast?"_ he yelled. Similar shouts were heard from the other team members.

_What the—?_

Something moved around in the shadows, his shoulder-length blond hair highlighted in red. Of course.

"Dammit, Vash," Arthur muttered and continued forward. Alfred was the first one out the door. He could be anywhere, which made it even harder for Arthur to talk to him.

* * *

><p><em>He held a sobbing Alfred in his arms.<em>

"_Alfred, d-don't cry," he said. "This call doesn't mean anything. It just—"_

"_Did you even _hear_ the call?" Alfred clutched his shoulders. "Th-they said th-that they're g-going to cut us out! Us! Great-Grandpa Jones f-founded this company a-and the branch—I went t-to Harvard—c-corporate bastards!"_

_Arthur sighed and looked at the clock. Six. Alfred had been sobbing and completely broken apart for over a half-hour, ever since the incredibly heated call between Alfred and Emilie ended. Alfred started to cry immediately and forgot the shun he had given Arthur the last month and a half._

_Alfred wiped his eyes. "W-well at least the laser tag thing's still going on f-for tomorrow. M-maybe I could take everyone to my Nantucket house before we...we" He took a deep breath. "BEFORE WE SAY GOODBYYYYYE!" He collapsed into Arthur's arms again._

_Arthur sighed, patting Alfred's back. "Al, everything is going to be alright—"_

"_HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?"_

_Alfred pushed himself away from Arthur's arm, tears running down his cheeks._

"_A-al—"_

"_We just got a call that says our branch is next in line to get the axe! How the fuck does that mean it'll be alright?"_

"_A-al, I'm just saying—"_

"_Then stop saying!" Alfred put on his coat and picked up suitcase._

"_Al?"_

"_And don't call me that!"_

* * *

><p>Arthur shook his head and went onward. He knew that Alfred was still angry at him, even if he managed to talk with him for a half-hour. Hell, that was probably the reason why he snapped at him. He hid behind a pillar. Alfred was right there in the open, picking off blue team members and laughing the entire time. Tackling was against the rules, but if it was the only way to get Alfred to speak to him, then so be it.<p>

He crept silently. Alfred shot at Toris, who ran directly in front of him. Idiot. Alfred turned his head in Arthur's direction. He froze and shot off in the opposite direction.

"_Oh no you don't!"_

Arthur rushed forward. Alfred was a faster runner in the long run, but Arthur's speed bursts easily left him in the dust. Like a cheetah.

He threw himself at Alfred and both men fell to the ground, twisting and squirming.

"_Arthur, you son a of—" _

"_Don't move, dammit! I want to talk to you!"_

Alfred pushed Arthur to the grounded and crawled on top of him, fire in his eyes.

"What?" he hissed.

Arthur shifted uncomfortably. Alfred's knees were on either side of his hips, certain...parts of their body touching ever so slightly. This was rather a compromising position. He blushed.

"A-Al...fred, I'm sorry," he whispered. "I know I've said that so _so_ many times to you in the past few weeks."

"I know," Alfred whispered. "Arthur that...that really hurt. You broke my heart. Honestly, I...I honestly thought that we had something going. I...I loved you! B-but then you said...that. I guess we just never were meant to be." He moved one arm to get up.

Arthur grabbed it.

"Do you not understand? I do! I _do_ want to be in a relationship with you!" He lowered his arm.

Alfred blinked, those adorable baby blue eyes starting to regain that old spark. "B-but you said—"

"A-Alfred, I'm _sorry_! I-I didn't know what came over me! I said that out of anger! I'm sorr—Mmmmf!"

Alfred clutched his cheeks and crashed his lips onto his, sliding his tongue across them. Arthur thwacked Alfred's back and punched his chest. Alfred finally pulled away and grinned.

"You moron!" Arthur shouted. "Don't make-out with me in the middle of a laser tag war!"

Alfred chuckled. "You talk too much." And he kissed Arthur again.

* * *

><p>God, that was disgusting.<p>

Toris shook his head and walked away from the scene of Alfred and Arthur making out. He seemed to be gun fodder for everyone on the Red Team. He had never once fired his gun because he had always been shot one way or another. He headed down a corridor. The Red Team base was supposedly that way, according to Ivan. Toris was starting to question Ivan, as he had not seen a single member of the Red Team.

He turned right and found himself at a dead end. Crap. Did Ivan trick him? He sighed and turned around and stopped in his tracks.

Fuck.

Feliks was at the end of the corridor, staring straight at Toris.

"Liet?"

The blond came forward, his hair highlighted with the red and his sex—_pink_ skirt looking even more sexy—no, pink! His green eyes glowed red. He looked like some kind of hot—_wait_, cross-dressing demon.

Toris couldn't move, couldn't do anything. He just stood there, wondering what to do. The corridor was already small enough and Feliks was getting closer and closer with each step.

He threw himself at the wall behind him, fingers scrabbling, trying to get a hold in order to climb up and get over the wall.

"What the hell, Liet?"

He could feel Feliks' arms around his waist. Toris kicked wildly and tried to twist around in order to smack Feliks or something.

"_L-Liet, stay still!"_

"_Get off me!"_

Feliks had Toris' wrists in a death grip and flipped him over so that Toris was face-to-face with the seething cross-dresser. His chest rose and fell with each dress and a blush creeped up Toris' blue face. Their bodies were so close. Any closer and...

Feliks pressed himself onto Toris. He gulped, beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead.

"Why have you been ignoring me for these bad few days?" Feliks asked. "Was it, like, something I did or said?"

Toris shook his head rapidly. "N-no! Feliks, it's nothing like that!"

"Then _why_? Toris, you were like my best friend in the office. Why're you ignoring me like this?"

Toris could easily hear the hurt in Feliks' vote, and he dropped his head in shame.

"F-Feliks, it's nothing. It's—it's just. It's really hard to explain—"

Feliks' eyes shone. "Why can't you tell me? I...I thought you could tell me anything, Liet..."

He shifted slightly.

Toris' breath caught in his throat, as he felt something uncomfortably swell in the front of his pants. Oh God. No. No. No. No. No—

Feliks' eyes widened, and he looked down.

"O-oh..." He jumped away from Toris, shaking his head.

"Shit, uhh, umm—"

"T-Toris, I'm sorry! I-I-I-I—"

"Uhh, F-Feliks, I—"

"Gah! I'm sorry! I'm so so so sorry!"

Feliks ran down the corridor, turned, and went out of sight.

Toris slid down the wall and onto the floor, pulling his knees up to his chin and curling into a ball, wishing he could dissolve into the floor.

* * *

><p>The game had been surprisingly easy for Matthew. No one had tried to shoot him, even if he was right in front of them.<p>

He walked straight to the Blue Team base, the cries of his shot teammates sounding behind him. The base wasn't that heavily guarded, just Raivis and Katyusha. And Natalia. According to Feliciano, she had shot nearly everyone who tried to get near the base. The blue flag glowed in the center of a blue dais.

He shot at Natalia and hid behind a pillar. She screamed and pat her vest to try to stop the vibration. Raivis jumped.

"Ah! N-natalia, are you okay?" he demanded.

"S-someone shot me!" she yelled. When the vibrating stop, she raised her gun, eyes darting everywhere.

"Dammit! Who was that?" she hissed. "I will _murder_ them!"

"Natasha, you won't be murdering anyone!" Katyusha said.

Matthew gulped. Natalia _did_ like to carry that small knife with her...

He went on his belly and crawled, trying to make himself as low to the ground as possible. Natalia was still running around, Raivis was shivering uncontrollably, and Katyusha was being vigilant, on the look-out. He only had one shot at this.

One. Two. Three. Red lasers shot out of his gun as he fired at the three of them. Natalia starting cursing in Russian, Raivis yelped, and Katyusha screamed. Matthew launched himself (shoving Raivis slightly) and grabbed the flag.

"_I WILL KILL YOU!"_

Matthew's vest vibrated, but he couldn't stop now. He turned down a corridor, through a maze, and nearly crashed into a running Feliks.

"S-sorry, Maddox!" he yelled and ran off.

Matthew continued running. He felt like he was in school again and he was going to make that final goal so that his team won the championship. He felt alive, energetic, blood roaring through the veins.

He swerved again, and there was home base. Alfred was trying to deflect Ivan from stealing the flag, Elizabeta was tussling with Francis, and Yong Soo was stalking Yao (weren't those two on the same team though...?). The dais was there, the red flag still intact.

And Matthew ran. Ten feet, nine feet, eight feet, seven, six, five, four, three—

"_FOUND YOU!"_

"AHHHH!"

Natalia pounced on him from behind. Matthew fell face-first on the cold floor (a tooth didn't crack, did it?), flailing. The dais was only two feet away; if he stretched his arm long enough, he could make it! Natalia straddled his back, pulling his hair and getting a hold on the flag.

"GIVE ME THAT FLAG!"

"NO! NO!"

Natalia's grip was strong, and she didn't look like she was going to relent any time soon. Matthew used his free hand to inch himself ever so closer to the dais. Just—so—

"GET OFF MY BROTHER!"

The flag was yanked out of both of their hands and placed in the dais. Everyone on the Red Team cheered and the lights went on.

Matthew rolled onto his back, panting. Natalia glared at him from up above.

"Ahh, Natalia, can you please get off me?" he asked.

"No."

* * *

><p>Eduard's eyes were glued to the screen. Everything in the zombie game was already falling into place once he had hacked into the game's system. No matter how many times the zombies attacked him, his health stayed up. He never lost any ammo, and he always gained double points. He had already broken the high score, and he was only on level four.<p>

"H-hey, can I play?"

Eduard paused the game. "Raivis, hey." He handed the smaller man a blue gun. "Here you go. I'll reset this." He closed the current game.

"Wow! That's a really high score, Ed," Raivis said. "Of course, I don't expect much less from you."

Eduard blushed slightly. "Th-thanks, Raivis."

He saved his high score and started a new game. Their two characters were in an empty mall, searching for any zombies to kill.

"Basically, you just shoot zombies, right?" Raivis asked.

"Yep, that's it. Shit! There's one!" Eduard flawlessly shot down one of the slowly-moving undead.

"Ahh! Ed, this game's kinda freaky, like that movie Ivan made us watch! Ahh!" Raivis' character was attacked by one of the zombies; his health dropped drastically. Eduard shot it down.

"A-are there any health things nearby?"

"Uhh, I dunno. Maybe..."

Two zombies went towards them. Eduard shot one down. Raivis tried to shoot at one, but the gun must've been too heavy for him or something, because the zombie came over and killed him.

"Aw man! I died!" Raivis exclaimed.

"I didn't know you could die here!" Eduard gasped.

"Is this some kind of advanced level or something?"

"No. This is the _training area_!"

* * *

><p>"So, I've, like, called this emergency meeting of the Gal Pals!" Feliks yelled.<p>

"But I'm not a girl, Feliks," Feliciano said.

"Oh, come on! You know what I mean..."

Feliks held this meeting at a small table next to the restaurant. Feliciano chewed on his pizza. Food would be too distracting for Feliks at this urgent time.

"What's wrong, Feli?" Katyusha asked. "You almost never call an emergency meeting."

"I'm soooooo confused!" Feliks clutched his head. "So, like, you all know how I like Toris, right?"

Everyone nodded.

"And you all got that mass text yesterday about how he's been ignoring me, right?"

More nods.

"Okay, so anyway, today I met him in the maze, and I tried to get him to tell me what was wrong. I kinda pinned him to a wall." He blushed. "I guess, we must've gotten too close for comfort because he totally got a boner! From _me_! He totally got a boner from me!"

A few people at the restaurant turned their heads at them.

"Can you keep it down, Feliks?" Elizabeta asked. "Who knows who's hearing in on this."

"You're right." Feliks sighed and rested his hands on top of each other.

"The thing is, now I don't know if Liet has feelings for me or not. Is he even gay? Most straight guys don't have boners for their guy friends."

Elizabeta shrugged. "Maybe he has a thing for skirts."

"Ve! Ludwig has a thing for skirts. I remember one time—"

Katyusha blushed. "F-Feliciano, we really don't need to know that!"

"Enough about Feli's sex life!" Feliks said. "We need to focus on _my_ problems! I, like, called this meeting, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"We know."

"Ve. I'm sorry."

Feliks waved them off.

"Well, Toris _might_ have some feelings for you," Katyusha said.

"Plus, since he's acting all weird around you, maybe it's a sign that he _does_ like you, and he's having some trouble trying to sort out his feelings for you."

Feliks sat back, tapping his chin. "That actually _does_ seem to make sense. Especially if he hasn't had these kinda feelings before!"

"See. It all works out for you, Feli," Feliciano said, smiling.

"Yeah, I really hope that it'll work out," Feliks replied. "This meeting is now adjourned."

* * *

><p>"H-Hey, Ed, can I talk to you for a little bit?" Toris asked.<p>

"Not now, Toris. I'm busy." Apparently, killing zombies with Raivis was very hard work.

"Err, it's kinda important."

Eduard paused the game. "Is this about those sex dreams you have about Feliks?"

"Whoa!" Raivis exclaimed, putting his gun down. _"You have sex dreams about Feliks?"_

"_Eduard, you moron!"_

"_Raivis, shut up!"_

"S-sorry," Raivis said. "But do you really have sex dreams about Feliks?"

"Something like that. Anyway, something weird happened when I was with him during the game." Something weird, freaky, and just plain disturbing.

"What happened?"

Toris looked over Eduard's shoulder and pointed. "Oh look! It's Ivan!"

"Ahh!"

"What, where?"

Raivis sped past him. Eduard tried to do the same, but Toris grabbed his arm.

"Wh-what are you doing? I-ivan's right over—"

"Ed, I just did that to get Raivis away."

"O-oh..."

Toris released his grip on Eduard.

"Anyway, what was it you were going to say?"

Toris took a deep breath and shifted his feet. "Err, it's kinda embarrassing."

Eduard sighed. "Toris, you've told me about your sex dreams. What's worse?"

Toris looked away. "Uhh, yeah it can be worse."

Eduard narrowed his eyes. "Ooookay. How?"

Toris blushed again and looked down. "He kinda got a little too close to me during the game...and...uhh..."

"What?..." Eduard's eyes widened in realization. "Oh...That...must've been really..._hard_."

"That wasn't funny, Ed."

"It sounded better in my head."

Toris rolled his eyes. "Oh God, Ed, _what do I do_? I'm not bi! I know I'm not! But I just keep having these dreams and _now this_!"

"Well, maybe you actually _are_ bi, Toris," Eduard said. "You just haven't realized it yet. Or you don't want to."

"Aw man, I don't want to be bi."

"There's nothing wrong with being gay."

"It's not gay, it's bi. Interesting how you jumped to gay though..."

Eduard blushed. "Uhh, umm, yeah." He patted Toris' shoulder. "Good luck, Toris!" He ran away.

Toris sighed again and spotted Feliks playing _DDR_ with Feliciano. He figured that he should go over and apologize.

He went over to him. Feliciano stumbled nearly over every step, but Feliks was perfect, barely missing a beat.

"H-Hey, Feliks, can I talk to you?" he asked.

"Yeahholdon." Feliks was way too distracted.

Katyusha and Elizabeta looked at Toris funny.

"Wh-what are you staring at me for?"

Elizabeta giggled. "N-nothing." She poked Feliks. "Feli, a certain someone wants to talk to you."

"Hmm?"

Feliciano paused the game.

"Hey!" Feliks yelled. "I was playing that."

"We'll leave you two alone," Katyusha said. She and Elizabeta each took one of Feliciano's arms and dragged him off the stage.

Feliks grew red and looked at his shoes. "S-so...um..."

"Yeah...Umm, Feliks?"

He looked up at him.

"Look," Toris said. "I'm really sorry about what happened. I-I don't know what came over me, and I guess I just got confused, and—"

"Can we just forget anything, like, ever happened?" Feliks cut in. "I still want to be your friend."

"Y-yeah! We can just do that! It'll be great! Umm..."

Toris fidgeted. Feliks started playing with the edge of his skirt.

"Soooo..."

"Hey, wanna, like, play some _DDR_?"

"Oh, sure thing!"

Toris got on the stage and took Feliciano's place.

"What level is this thing on?" Toris unpaused it and gasped.

"The highest one, like, to the max!"

* * *

><p>Alfred smiled at everyone as they went back into their cars, all happy and content with the content's of the day. It really was a good idea, doing the whole laser tag thing. It brought up everyone's spirits. It was a good day—he beat the Blue Team's asses, he got back with Arthur, <em>and<em> he heard some juicy office gossip that Feliks blurted out.

He turned towards Arthur. "Hey."

"Hey." Arthur smiled.

"You're not going home with Antonio."

Arthur shook his head. "It's really annoying in that car. Lovino kept screaming at him and Francis started to hit on me."

Alfred chuckled. "That's sucks. Sooooo..." He wrapped his arms around his waist. "...I'm not going back to the office, unless you brought some things."

"I didn't bring anything."

"Want me to take you to my place?"

"Definitely."

* * *

><p>Hope ya liked it! Reviews, favs, and alerts make me happy!<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

Wow...I'm actually surprised I finished this in around a week! I guess I just ended up writing the beginning and everything flowed from there. Sorry if this is a little weak, too. I'm just really building up for what's going to happen in the next two chapters (it was originally going to be one, but the outline was too long so I had to split it).

Fans of "the Office" will most definitely know what I'm setting up in this chapter. ;P

If anyone here lives in the Los Angeles area and is going to Anime Expo, look for me! I'll be there tomorrow and possibly Saturday! I'll be apron!Lithuania. I'll be posting some pics on my dA. :3 If you talk to me, theeeeeeeen uhhh, I don't really know. You get a free oneshot? xD

Thanks for all the reviews and alerts and favs, guys! You rock!

**Warnings:** Language (a lot of language in this chapter), sexual references, GerIta, and USUK  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I don't own Hetalia or the Office.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

* * *

><p>Just as things were getting back to normal for Toris things just ended up getting worse.<p>

"...so then, like, that bitch told me that the dress totally wouldn't fit just because I didn't have tits! I saw her put on the dress and I was like, 'Hey, you look sooooo un-fabulous in that', and then she was like, 'No way!', and then I was like, 'Uh huh!', and then I just grabbed the dress out of her hands and ran away as fast as I could! Doesn't it look totally awesome on me, Liet?"

Feliks twirled around in his little knee-length (something that actually reached to his knees) red dress. There was a white bow wrapped around his waist and heart-shaped clips in his hair.

"I-I think it does," Toris said. "That girl must've been lying."

"Totally, right?" Feliks sat on the counter in the little kitchen in the office. Today was Casual Monday, which meant that everyone could basically wear anything.

Feliks examined his green nails and looked over at Toris, at his jeans and old purple college jacket. "You, like, need a makeover. Badly, Liet. I'm totally gonna take you shopping one day."

Toris smiled and leaned on the counter next to him. "Sure. I think I'll like that."

Feliks wrapped his arms around Toris' neck and pulled him close. "Just think! We can totally go to the Galleria and go shopping and have so much—"

"Ah! Hello, Toris!"

Ivan sauntered in the room, going over to the counter and pouring himself a cup of coffee. Feliks slipped his arms off.

"Hey, Ivan, what's up?" Toris asked.

"Ah, nothing much. Just the usual, you know? You look very happy."

"Yeah, well, it's Friday. The weekend's tomorrow."

"Excited for Nantucket, da?" Ivan sipped his coffee.

"Nantucket? Why, are we going there for a meeting or something?"

"Nope! Alfred's birthday is on Monday, and he invites us over to his family's house in Nantucket every year. It's right next to the beach. You better bring some swimwear. And sunscreen."

"That sounds really cool, Ivan." Toris smiled.

"Maybe once we're there, we could play some volleyball or something—"

"Oh...I don't play volleyball..."

"That's alright, I can teach you!"

"Great! I'm looking forward to it, Ivan! Thanks a lot!"

"You're welcome, Toris." Ivan pat Toris' head and briefly glared at Feliks. He smiled again and walked out.

"Wow, that was weird," Toris said. "What did you do to piss him off?"

Feliks was still glaring at the door, wanting his gaze to crush the Russian that sat behind it.

"Oh, I know." He hopped off the counter. "Love to talk, Toris, but my break is up, and I have some things to look after."

"Oh...sure thing, Feliks..."

Toris tried not to stare at Feliks' ass as he walked away.

* * *

><p>"So, you want an ice cream cake with mint chocolate chip, 'America'-themed decorations, aaaaand a Miley Cyrus piñata." Arthur jotted everything down on his notes.<p>

"And fireworks." Alfred grinned. "Don't forget the fireworks."

Arthur sighed and put down the pad. "Alfred, those are illegal in Massachusetts."

"Arthur, we've had them _every freakin' year_." Alfred pouted. "Pleeeeease, Arthur, I'm only twenty-six once."

Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Oh! Oh! Check this out!"

"What is it now?"

Arthur went over to Alfred's side of the desk. "I'm just seeing an Excel spreadsheet..." Which looked very empty.

"Ooops!" Alfred clicked on the Skype tab and on the screen came the inside of Alfred's garage (which was very messy) and in the center of the garage was a shiny, gorgeous silver—

"Blimey! Is that a _Ferrari_, Al?" Arthur squinted at the screen.

"Yep! Uncle Ed's 2000 Ferrari 550 Maranello came in yesterday! I can't wait to drive it!"

"How on earth did you get your uncle's Ferrari?"

"He died!"

"Oh." Alfred sounded unnaturally happy about that. "Why do you have a webcam on it?"

Alfred gasped. "I don't want people to _steal_ it, Artie! It's such an awesome car! Besides, my uncle bought it for 220,000 bucks!"

Arthur gaped. "Are you serious?"

"Uhh, duh! How could I ever let someone steal this?"

Arthur put his hand on his face. "That's not what I meant."

Alfred raised an eyebrow, but looked back at the screen. "Well, no one's tried to get in the garage yet. There'll probably be robbers at night." He clicked back to the spreadsheet. "Hey, do you think that Toris and Feliks have had sex?"

If Arthur had been drinking something, he would have spit it out. _"WHAT?"_

Alfred shrugged. "Just wondering. Toris got a boner for him after all, and you know how Feliks likes him."

"You know that Feliks did _not _mean for you to overhear that. It was private."

"Yeah, well, if he did, he could've been a lot more quiet about it. I don't think he has an inside voice."

"He doesn't know that we know, Al. We should just keep it to ourselves."

Alfred froze, biting his bottom lip.

"Umm..."

"Oh shit, Alfred, you wouldn't—"

Alfred grimaced. "Kinda."

* * *

><p>Toris tapped the vending machine, waiting for the Coke to come out. It was already eleven, but he was somehow craving caffeine.<p>

It finally came out with a clang and Toris bent down to pick it up.

"What's up, boner-ific?"

"AH!"

Toris whirled around, but ended up tripping over his feet and falling down.

Yong Soo grinned at him from a nearby table, along with Antonio and Frances.

"Wh-what did you just call me?"

"Boner-ific," Yong Soo said, grinning wider. Antonio snorted.

"H-Hey, th-that's sexual harassment!" Toris countered...although he wasn't quite sure that it was...

"Was it sexual harassment when Feliks barely touched you and you got hard for him?" Antonio sneered. Francis burst out laughing.

Toris' face went from red to paper white. "Wh-wh-what? Where did you hear something like that?"

"Alfred," Antonio said simply. "He said Feliks shouted it after the laser tag game."

Toris gaped and his eyes widened in horror. "WHAT?"

"He doesn't deny it!" Francis pointed out. Antonio nodded.

"Yes, I do!" Toris exclaimed. "That never happened!" He scrambled to his feet. "I'm going to talk to Feliks about this. He shouldn't be spreading lies like this."

Yong Soo smiled. "Suuuuuure." Antonio and Frances laughed together.

Toris stormed out of the break room, wanting nothing more than to punch Feliks' face in. How could he? He _knew_ how Toris felt about that. Hell, it was _his_ suggestion to keep the subject quiet anyways. But then he had to _blurt_ it out to everyone! That little monster. The sweet butterflies in his stomach quickly turned into angry wasps.

Toris fumed his way through the annex and the kitchen before entering the main office.

"_Feliks—"_

His anger abated slightly when he saw the unusual scene. Eduard fiddled around with Ivan's computer while Feliks whispered something to him. Ivan was nowhere to be seen. This did not look good.

Toris looked to the right and immediately saw Raivis staring intently at the bathroom door.

"Raivis, what're you doing here?"

The poor man jumped. "Ah! N-nothing, Toris. N-nothing."

Toris raised an eyebrow, but went over to Eduard and Feliks. Ivan's computer screen looked normal.

"What're you two doing?"

"Give me the flash drive," Eduard whispered.

Feliks nodded and handed it to him. Eduard inserted it into the computer and clicked until he got to Feliks' flash drive. There were a number of files involving clients, but most of them were pictures of clothes.

"What's the program called again?" Feliks asked.

"I called it WARSAW."

"That's waaaay too obvious! Here—" Feliks stole the keyboard away from Eduard and changed the name of the file to "MOSCOW".

"Nice. Here goes nothing."

Eduard opened the file and the computer screen went black.

Toris gasped. "What did you _do_?"

Feliks yelped and turned around. "H-hey, Toris!" He smiled awkwardly. "Wh-what's up?"

"His computer!" Toris took the back of Eduard's chair and slid him across the room.

"Ahhh!" Eduard crashed into the wall, gripping the armrests of the chair for his life.

"Ed!"

"Raivis, just stay there for cover!"

"What's your problem?" Feliks demanded, crossing his arms.

"I should ask the same for you!" Toris' hand clenched into a fist. "Feliks, _how could you_?"

Feliks blinked. "What? Toris, what are you—?"

"He's coming! He's coming!" Raivis said. He ran over to his desk.

Before Toris could talk to him more, Feliks rushed over to his, and Eduard put the chair back in place and went over to the water cooler.

The kitchen door opened and out stepped Ivan.

"Ah! Oh, Toris, you're an odd sight around my desk," he said. He smiled. "What brings you here?"

"Oh—oh, uhh, n-nothing—"

Ivan sat down and frowned. "Why is my computer screen black?" he asked. He pressed the space button and white writing appeared on the screen, saying:

YOUR CAPITAL WILL BECOME WARSAW  
>YOUR CAPITAL WILL BECOME WARSAW<br>YOUR CAPITAL WILL BECOME WARSAW  
>YOUR CAPITAL WILL BECOME WARSAW<br>YOUR CAPITAL WILL BECOME WARSAW  
>YOUR CAPITAL WILL BECOME WARSAW<br>YOUR CAPITAL WILL BECOME WARSAW  
>YOUR CAPITAL WILL BECOME WARSAW<br>YOUR CAPITAL WILL BECOME WARSAW  
>YOUR CAPITAL WILL BECOME WARSAW<p>

And it continued.

Ivan blinked. Toris shuddered as a dark aura settled over him.

"I wonder who would do something like this. _Ed-uard_?"

Eduard spit out his water on Raivis, who whined.

"S-sorry, R-raivis. U-umm, what did you want, Ivan?"

There was a darker shade to Ivan's smile, and his eyes gleamed.

"Something is wrong with my computer. I was hoping you knew how to help me."

"O-of course! I'm not the office nerd for nothing!" Eduard pushed his glasses up his nose, as he tended to do in a serious situation like this, and went over to Ivan and Toris.

"Do you know what's wrong with this? I hope it's not a virus."

"I...might know something."

Toris looked over Ivan's shoulder. Eduard typed on the keyboard with shaking fingers. And as Toris saw what he typed, he was sure why.

_Back off Ivan or I'll kick your Russki ass._

Eduard gulped and pressed the "enter" key. The computer screen returned to the normal desktop—a picture of a smiling Ivan and his sisters in a field of sunflowers.

A line formed between Ivan's eyes, but his smile shone. He got up from his desk and went over to Feliks, who immediately wiped the smirk off his face.

"Ahh, Feliks?"

Feliks looked up, his smile as bright as Ivan's. "Yeeeees?" he said in a sing-song voice.

"Did you have anything to do with the little problem going on with my computer?"

Feliks tilted his head to the side. "What? No. What makes you think it was me?"

"Well, screen said something about Warsaw." Ivan leaned on the desk. "You _are_ Polish after all."

"Yeah, that wasn't, like, me," Feliks said. "And get off my desk. You're infecting it with your creepiness."

Ivan twisted his mouth but blinked and went back to his desk. Feliks glared at him the entire time.

Toris glanced between Ivan and Feliks and headed back to his desk. What on earth made those two hate each other so much?

"_Toris!"_

Alfred came his way, smiling. "Ah, can you meet me in my office please? There're a few things that I want to talk to you about."

"Oh...sure, Alfred."

Two pairs of eyes—one green, one violet—watched him as he went inside Alfred's office.

* * *

><p>"Ve. Sorry, Ludwig, I have to get back to work." Feliciano pecked his cheek and went back to the annex.<p>

Ludwig watched him as he left, wondering. They had been dating for well over three years. Maybe it was time for them to take the next level...

"You."

Ludwig rolled his eyes at the man across from him. "What is it, Lovino?"

"You know what it is." The Italian glared at him with wolfish amber eyes. "You and my brother."

Ludwig sighed. "Lovino, I already told you I don't care about the fact that you don't approve of me and your brother. It's already been three years."

"I'm not mad at you because of that."

Ludwig blinked, capping his pen. "Then, why are you glaring at me like that?"

"You. You make my brother whiny. He complains about you."

"Oh. That's it?" Ludwig knew that Feliciano had to complain about him to _someone_.

"Yes. He's tired of being your boyfriend."

"Wait a minute, _what_? Why would he say that?" On all over their dates, Feliciano seemed more than happy to be with Ludwig, and Feliciano was a really, _really_ bad liar.

"Don't you _see, _you moron?" Lovino's voice dropped. "He wants you to ask him to marry him!"

"Hmm." Ludwig sat back in his chair and looked over at the annex. "You know, I _have_ been thinking about that..."

"Well, then make a decision soon. I don't want him complaining in my ear the entire time." Lovino took out a pamphlet and started flipping through it.

Ludwig continued looking at the annex, tapping his pen on the desk and pondering his next move.

* * *

><p>"Welcome, Toris. Glad you came into my little abode of pleasure."<p>

Alfred closed the door and Toris stared at all of the curios on Alfred's walls. "Wow, that's a lot of superhero things."

"Yep. I'm a pretty darned dedicated fan." Alfred sat down behind the desk and gestured to Toris. "Please, sit down."

Toris did. "What did you want to talk to me about, Alfred?"

Alfred folded his hands and sighed. "Toris, I know that it must be very hard for you."

Oh God, no... "What's hard?"

Alfred snorted. "Hehe, ahh, never mind." He shook his head and continued on, in a very grave voice, "Toris, it's alright. We're all here to support you."

"I...don't understand."

Alfred smiled knowingly. He leaned over the desk and held Toris' hand. Toris cringed in horror.

"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?"

"Toris, we all support you. It's a-okay that you're bi."

Toris slipped his hand out. "WHAT?"

Alfred raised his hands. "Toris, it's okay. Most bisexuals _do_, in fact, have boners for their best friends."

"NO! That is a _lie_!" Toris screamed, his face red. "That is _not_ true."

"It is, Toris." Alfred just sat there.

"No! No! No!"

"Is it the sex that scares you?" Alfred asked.

Toris' eyes popped out of his head (or, almost). _"WHAT?"_

"In fact, it is _very_ pleasurable. Both as a top, _and_ as a bottom. You just gotta get your ass stretched a little if you're a bottom—"

"_Oh my God, I've had enough!"_

Toris threw open the door and walked out.

"Okay, show of hands here. Who has heard the story about what happened between me and Feliks at the laser tag game?"

To his horror (although he couldn't say he was completely surprised), everyone raised their hand, except for Feliks.

Feliks yelped. "Toris, _what the hell are you doing_?" He stared at Toris with his mouth half-open. He looked like he was about to cry.

Toris ignored him. "Who did you all hear this from?"

Almost everyone in the office cried, "Alfred!"

Alfred walked out of his office and stood next to Toris. "Hey! I'm only repeating what I heard from Feliks. And I heard _everything_!"

People gasped and muttered about, looking at Feliks and Toris and Alfred.

Feliks blinked rapidly. _"You totally weren't supposed to hear that, much less spread it around!"_ His lips started to quiver.

"How could you?" Elizabeta yelled.

"Well, it's not my fault Feliks freakin' _blurted_ it out!" Alfred said. "Why the hell are _you_ mad at _me_? You should be mad at Feliks." He pointed at Feliks. "He _said_ it."

The office all stared at Feliks. Feliks, whose face was now very red and he no longer seemed very tall.

"_You're an asshole,"_ Feliks whispered and shot into the kitchen and into the bathroom.

Toris blinked. No wonder why Feliks was clueless when he tried to talk to him—

"F-Feliks, _wait_!"

He ran after him.

* * *

><p>After everyone was done looking at Feliks and Toris, they all slowly turned their heads towards Alfred, an expression of utmost hatred on their faces.<p>

Alfred recoiled.

"Hey, hey! Why're you all mad at me for?"

"Why don't you shut your mouth for once?" Lovino yelled.

"Feliks is right; you _are_ an asshole!" Antonio said.

"How could you ruin their beautiful friendship?" Yong Soo shook his head.

"Yong Soo, why the _hell_ are you saying anything?" Alfred yelled. "You don't even talk to them!"

"But _I care_!"

"Alfred, you just told everyone about Feliks' feelings for Toris," Elizabeta said. "How could you? You _know_ how Feliks is about things like this!"

"Come _on_! Whenever I hear some juicy piece of office gossip, you all know what I do!"

"We thought that last year's incident would have stopped you," Ludwig stated.

"Wh-what incident? The thing with Arthur at Christmas?"

"_ALFRED!"_ Now it was Arthur's turn to scream.

"See? I rest my case." Ludwig went back to his work.

Alfred shook his head. "Okay, guys." He chuckled nervously. "This is some _reaaallly_ bad energy I'm getting here from you all. And my birthday's coming up and everything. I don't want pissed-off people coming to my birthday party."

"I don't want to come _at all_!" Elizabeta shouted. Many others around the office agreed with her.

"Oh come on, you don't mean that, Liz," Alfred said. "There's going to be cake and a piñata and fireworks—"

"_No fireworks!"_

"Shut _it_, Artie!"

Fear started to pump into Alfred's heart. The big dark house would be so lonely without anyone else inside.

"After this, Alfred, I'm not going either," Yao said.

"Mm-hmm."

"Yep. Me too."

"Guuuyssssss, come on! It's a _free trip to Nantucket_! You just have to pay for the ferry, and besides, you get Monday off."

"Monday doesn't count," Francis pointed out. "Fourth of July _and_ it's your birthday." A few nodded in agreement.

"Fine, fine. Will you all come if you get _Tuesday_ off?"

"Tuesday's when we come back from Nantucket," Elizabeta said. "I am _not_ going into work after a trip like that."

More nods.

"Gah! You guys leave me no choice! How about Wednesday off too?"

Silence.

* * *

><p>That bastard.<p>

"_FELIKS, OPEN UP!"_

Toris pounded on the bathroom stall. He knew that the blond was in here—in the women's bathroom of all things.

"_No! Like, I'm totally not going to!"_

Toris let out a growl of frustration. _"Feliks, why did you tell everyone?" _he demanded. _"You knew how I got so embarrassed about that!"_

"It totally wasn't my fault." A sniffle. "I was j-just talking to Lizzie, and K-Kat, a-and Feli."

Toris put his hands on the top of the bathroom door and pushed himself up. Feliks was curled up in a ball on the toilet, with his knees up to his chin.

"Feliks, are you crying?_ Gah_!"

Toris slipped off and landed on his butt on the bathroom floor.

The stall door opened. Feliks stepped out, shivering slightly. Tears fell down his cheeks. The entire image made Toris forget his anger.

"Liet?"

Toris got to his feet and rubbed his sore behind. "Feliks?"

"I'll, like, tell you if you won't yell at me." He sniffed again and wiped his face.

"Oh..." Toris whispered. "Of course." He took Feliks' shoulders and led him to the sink. He took a bit of a paper towel and began to gently dab Feliks' face.

"Feliks, _why_ did you do that?" he asked softly.

Feliks sniffed. "I-I'm s-sorry, Toris. I-It's just...I..." He paused for a bit, sniffling some more, and continued: "I...was just so confused."

"Confused? About what?"

"I..." Feliks blinked. "I...I just wondered if...you had feelings for me."

Toris stopped. "If..._I_...had feelings for you?" he asked. "Feliks, I...don't have any feelings for you. Not at all. You're just a really good friend." The words tasted dry and bitter on his tongue.

"Oh..."

Feliks gazed up at him with those pret—green eyes of his. "Then, w-why did you—" He gulped. "—g-get...you know?"

Toris blushed.

"Umm, ahhh, well, you know." _Think, Toris. Think. Think!_ "Uhhh...it was very...uhh, close proximity, and...err, you were..._warm_...and stuff. So, I guess that must have...st-_stimulated_ s-something—"

"Oh. I kinda don't want to hear anymore."

Toris breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God." He crumpled up the paper towel and threw it away. "There, your face looks better." He smiled slightly. The butterflies started to return.

Feliks smiled back. "Th-thanks, Toris."

"No problem. You look better when you smile in that pretty dress." He pressed his lips to Feliks' forehead.

His eyes shot open. What was he..._doing_? His lips quivered, his eyes trailed down. Feliks froze as well, barely taking a breath.

Toris pulled away. Both of them stared at each other, unblinking.

"Uhh..."

Feliks smiled. "Like, thanks, Liet!" He gave Toris a quick hug. "Oh, and about the fact that I liked you, it was, like, a long time ago. Don't worry about it. Alfred gets his facts wrong."

Toris blinked and furrowed his brows. That was a rather random thing to say. "Umm, sure thing, Feliks."

Feliks beamed and bounced out the door.

Toris stayed there for a few moments and then shrugged. He followed Feliks

As soon as they entered the office, everyone stared at them. Feliks pouted.

He snapped, "Like, why're you all looking at us for? Get back to work!"

Everyone jumped and went back their computer screens.

Toris chuckled. "Thanks, Feliks."

"No problem, Liet."

They both returned to their desks. Eduard and Raivis stared at him.

"What?"

They turned away.

"_Toriiiiiis!"_

For the second time that day, Alfred came towards him.

"Hey, can I meet you in my office for a little bit? You too, Feliks."

Feliks and Toris glanced at each other before they both got up and went into Alfred's office.

Inside, they both sat down. Alfred closed the door.

"Listen, I know that this day's been _craaaazy_ for both of you—"

"Arthur put you up to this, didn't he?" Feliks said, crossing his legs and folding his arms.

"Well, yes...kinda, but—"

"You really shouldn't have blabbed about this, Alfred," Toris said.

"I knooooow—"

"I still, like, hate you—"

"I don't think I'm coming to that birthday party—"

"Okay, okay!" Alfred raised his hands in defense. "I'm here to talk to you guys. Soooo after my birthday party, we'll get Tuesday and Wednesday off. _But_ I've decided to give you two Thursday off too."

"If you're totally trying to bribe us, then you're, like, doing it the right way," Feliks said. "I'll go."

Toris sighed. "Then, I guess I'll go too."

Alfred grinned. "That's epic, guys! Great!" He stood up and opened the door. "Thanks for coming in here."

"You invited us in—"

"Yeah, well, just get out. Also, don't tell anyone about Thursday."

Feliks did, his dress swaying around his hips.

"Toris!"

Toris turned around. He remembered that he needed to tell Alfred something. "Oh yeah, Alfred?"

"About—yeah?"

"About the whole 'Feliks having a crush on me thing', he told me that it was a while ago, and that he doesn't like me anymore."

Alfred raised his eyebrows and twisted his mouth. "Err, it wasn't that long ago."

Toris began to close the door. "What?"

"It wasn't that long ago. It was at the laser tag game."

"...He said he had a crush on me at the laser tag game—?"

Alfred shook his head and typed rapidly. "You know, I'll just shut up now. I've caused too much drama."

Toris' mind turned into jelly, and he walked back to his desk in a daze. He plopped into his chair. For the rest of the day, Toris could not concentrate on _anything_.

_So...Feliks really does like me then?_ He looked over. Feliks chatted on the phone with his high heels on his desk and examining his dark green nails.

_But...I don't like him though. I have to say—or..._think—_green really does look good on him. But I like the pink better. He looks so much cut—better-looking in pink. That's his color._

His heart thudded, and he looked away. He touched his cheek. He wasn't blushing, was he?

_Enough, Toris. The man's your friend, and you're not gay for him. You're not even bi._

* * *

><p>At the end of the week, Alfred and Arthur loaded everything that he had into Alfred's little yacht. It was a clear and really hot day. Alfred sweat profusely, and Arthur looked like he was already getting sunburnt.<p>

"Awesome! Trick candles!" Alfred said, getting the "2" and "6" out of the bag. "And they're red, white, and blue too!"

Arthur smiled. "I thought you'd like that."

"Didja you get the ice cream?"

"Right here." Arthur lifted the giant tub of mint chocolate chip and handed it to Alfred.

"Great!" Alfred looked in the wagon that Arthur carried onto the dock. "Hey, Artie, where's the piñata?" he asked.

"Oh...err, Al, they didn't have any Miley Cyrus piñatas."

"Aww! Really? That sucks!" Alfred looked at his shoes. "You at least get a Justin Bieber one?"

"No..._but_, I got something better!" Arthur smiled. "It's in the car! I'll show it to you."

He ran off into the parking lot. Alfred went below deck to put away the ice cream in the freezer.

When he came back out, Arthur was carrying the giant piñata on the boat. Alfred gasped and gave the Briton a huuuuuge hug.

"Arthur,_ oh my God_!" he yelled. He grabbed Arthur's cheeks and gave him a sloppy kiss.

"Gah!" Arthur flailed and pushed Alfred away from him. He hit him on the head with the piñata. "Don't get too friendly with me, Jones!"

Alfred wasn't even fazed. "_THIS...OH MY GOD! THIS IS THE BEST FUCKING PIÑATA EVER!"_

* * *

><p>I doubt anyone can guess what the piñata will be. xDD Anyway, I'll be busy this weekend with the convention, and I'll be heading off to the East Coast next week to study at a university for two weeks. Which should be fun, 'cause I'll be staying at a dorm and everything. c: I should be able to find some time to write then.<p>

Reviews make me squeal!_  
><em>


	9. Chapter 9

**I AM NOT DEAD, PEOPLE!**

See! See! I actually updated! And it's two AM. Hehe, boy, senior year's gonna drive me CRAZY.

I'm so so so so so so so so so so so sorry! I hit writer's block who knows how many times on this story over the summer and had to write it in little bits and pieces to overcome it (along with writing a crapload of other stories for me to get over it)

Anyway, summer was pretty cool. I actually visited Cambridge, where the fic takes place. It's actually a really cool town! 8D Can't wait to use to it's full advantage once they get back from Nantucket.

Anyone else excited about the new season of the Office coming back on the 22nd? I know I am! And speaking of the Office, I WENT TO SCRANTON. It was possibly the greatest place I went to on my entire vacation. I got a buttload of Office merchandise over there.

Enough about me, and more on the story. This is actually the longest chapter I've ever written here. I have a feeling that they're just gonna get longer and longer and longer. xD Oh, and the action is starting to heat up in this before finally climaxing in CHAPTER 10! 8D

Holy crap, guys! Thanks for the huge response to the last chapter! You're seriously the driving force behind all my stories. But don't forget about this one either!

**Warnings: Just some language. Nothing too awful this chapter.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

* * *

><p>Nothing much happened on the ferry ride from Hyannis to Nantucket. Feliciano vomited all over Ludwig's shoes and Feliks complained about the weather ("Like, this heat is totally making my blouse look like crap!") Toris himself was never a big fan of boat rides. He had only been on a boat once as a child, and he made a whole school of fish die in the lake just from his throw-up. Thankfully, he didn't get sick this time.<p>

It was three o'clock by the time they reached the dock in Nantucket. The sun glared off the water; it hurt too much to look at it for long. For once, Toris was glad he brought sunglasses.

"Hey, hey, you guys all managed to come!" exclaimed Alfred, as they stepped into the small parking lot where they were supposed to meet him and Arthur. The latter stood next to him. Good God, hadn't that man heard of sunscreen?

"How are we going to get to your house, Alfred?" Ivan said. "Did you only bring one car?"

"Err, yeah..." Alfred shifted uncomfortably. "I kinda had to borrow my aunt's SUV for this—don't worry, she's out of the house. And it can only sit eight—no, more like seven—no wait, six if you count Arthur too."

Everyone groaned. Lovino blurted, "Don't you _ever_ learn?"

"It was a snap decision. I'm sorry that _your ride_ is more important than _my birthday_! Sheesh!" He frowned. "'Cause of that, you're not getting a ride from me! You're gonna have to walk—"

"_Alfred!"_

"Heh, never mind, Lovino. I was just kidding, Arthur! Stop staring at me like that!

"Fine, first group! Who wants to go in first—gah!"

Alfred was soon overwhelmed by the entire office pushing and shoving in order to get inside the car. In the end, only six made it in: Feliciano, Antonio, Yong Soo, Yao (who looked very uncomfortable sitting next to Yong Soo), Ludwig, Vash, and Toris (who managed to crawl in when Feliks and Ivan started attacking each other and accidentally pushed him inside).

"So, _you're_ all the lucky ones who managed to squeeze in, eh?" Alfred said. He pulled out of the driveway while the others left behind sat around on the dock with Arthur.

"How are you supposed to see?" Vash asked. He looked over his shoulder. In the back, their bags were piled up to the roof of the Highlander. (Wait, how did Feliks manage to throw his sparkly pink suitcase in there?)

"My peripheral vision's fantastic!" Alfred exclaimed. "I have the eyes of a deer!"

Toris looked out the window most of the ride. They drove through a small cute town bustling with tourist and souvenir shops before departing for the southern coast of Nantucket. Small sea cabins dotted the beaches, but as the drive went on, the homes seemed to get bigger and bigger and bigger. Finally, they reached a gigantic three-story house on top of a hill at the end of the road. Stairs led from the street to the front porch. An American flag flew from the flagpole.

Toris let out a whistle. "Awesome place, Alfred."

"Heh, thanks!"

They got out of the car and began to unload their things. Toris felt a little awkward swinging Feliks' bag (which was freakishly heavy) over his shoulder and dragging his own green suitcase at the same time. Feliciano made Ludwig carry all of his stuff. Yong Soo attempted to jump Yao from behind, but Yao turned around and smacked him in the face with his bag.

By the time Toris had reached the front porch and gone up all of those stairs, he flung the bags down on the little swing and panted. What the hell was Feliks even carrying in there?

"Toris, why're you so tired?" Alfred asked. "It's just a couple of stairs." He laughed and flung open the door to the inside.

* * *

><p>"You really think this'll be the best time, Feli?"<p>

Feliks, Elizabeta, and Katyusha sat on the small wall that divided the parking lot from the dock. Feliks fidgeted somewhat nervously with the sleeve on his blouse. Katyusha anxiously watched Ivan fool around with Raivis and Eduard. For some bizarre reason, she was also carrying a cupcake.

"I hope so," Feliks said. "I mean, in the bathroom, it was, like, totally obvious he was lying. He's bi. He totally is. I'm, like, ninety percent sure. And I'm totally sure that he likes me too."

Elizabeta's cell phone buzzed, and she rapidly began texting.

"Roderich again?" Katyusha asked.

"Yeah," Elizabeta said, "I told him that I'd call him as soon as we got here. Sorry, Fel. I'd love to listen, but—"

Feliks shook his head. "No, it's okay. He's your boyfriend. Go call him."

Elizabeta nodded and got off the wall, heading over to a more deserted part of the parking lot to talk.

Katyusha scooted closer to Feliks. "Feliks, about Toris..."

"Hmm? What is it, Kat? And why're you carrying that cupcake?"

Katyusha glanced sideways and ignored his last question. Ivan was now chasing Raivis around with a rather sharp stick while Eduard begged him to stop.

"About Toris, m-my brother...he..."

"What, what's wrong?"

Katyusha shuddered slightly. "Vanya also has a...how did you put it? A _thing_ for Toris."

Feliks scoffed. "Yeah, I sorta figured that out. No offense, but your brother's definitely not Toris' type. Just look at what your sister—"

"_Half_-sister," Katyusha put in.

"Your half-sister did to him."

Katyusha sighed. "Vanya doesn't know that. All that he knows it that he likes Toris, and he plans on telling him soon."

Feliks gasped. _"WHAT?" _he screamed. No, no! It couldn't be happening. There's no way it could be!

Everyone turned at him.

"Umm, uhh, _I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT SALESLADY SAID YOU WOULDN'T LOOK GOOD IN THE DRESS_!"

And then everyone ignored him.

"F-Feliks, don't be so loud!"

"I _know_ that," he growled. "But Ivan doesn't even know if Toris is bi yet—"

"Something like that won't stop Vanya from telling him. You should know that by now."

"Wh-when is he going to—?"

Katyusha shook her head. "I don't know. Sometime soon though."

_Probably before the weekend is over_, Feliks thought. He crossed his legs. Even if Ivan _did_ ask Toris, there was a huge chance that Toris would reject him. But then again, Toris _was_ on friendly terms with him...

Feliks then knew what he needed to do.

But then Alfred drove up, and he forgot everything.

* * *

><p>Toris sat down on the very comfy blue bed. Since he was a new employee, Alfred gave him a spectacular room on the third floor that overlooked the ocean and the sunset. As he looked out the window, Toris saw a docked yacht, a small fire pit, a couple of trees, and a pool (why would someone need a pool if they were right next to the ocean?). The house was Alfred's aunt's, and she ran it as a bed-and-breakfast during tourist season. With Alfred coming over, she cleared out fast.<p>

In Toris' room was two other beds. He wondered who he would be sharing it with.

He didn't wonder that long.

The door burst open.

"Toris! Here're your new roommate's!" Alfred said, swinging out his arm. "It's Ivan and Feliks, your two best friends."

Toris gulped.

Feliks threw himself onto the bed next to the window and stretched like a cat. "Like, thanks for getting my bags for me, Liet! You're totally awesome!"

Toris smiled. "Umm, th-thank you, Feliks." He looked away. Oh shit, why did Feliks have to wear lingerie under his skirt?

"Hello, Toris!" Ivan said, sitting down on Toris' bed. "Are you excited for the weekend?"

"Y-Yes! Yeah, I'm really excited! I've never been to Nantucket before!"

Alfred smiled. "I'll let you two—no, _three_ lovebirds have your time together! My bedroom's right below yours, and I don't wanna hear any weird noises coming from it! Also, dinner must be eaten by eight. Don't be late." He slipped out of the room. Toris had no idea whether or not he was joking.

Both Feliks and Ivan looked at him. Were they waiting for some sort of cue?

"So, like, this room's pretty—"

"Spectacular, da?"

Feliks and Ivan slowly turned their heads from Toris to each other. Toris had never seen such mutual hatred burn in either of their eyes. Neither one blinked, neither one made a sound.

"Uhh, I'm g-gonna see if Alfred could take me on a tour of this house. It looks r-really old!"

Feliks and Ivan shouted at the same time. "Me too!"

Toris slowly got up from the bed and walked out the door. He could hear Feliks and Ivan following him.

"Eww, like, stand away from me! You're touching my shoulder!"

"I'm not even touching you! You're imagining things!"

"Liet!"

"Toris!"

He went down the stairs onto the second floor, and nearly ran into Alfred.

"Hey! Toris, what's up?"

"Uhhh..." He looked behind him. Ivan and Feliks stood on the stairs, watching his every move.

"C-can I get a tour of the house?" he asked. "It's very beautiful."

Alfred smiled. "Awesome! I'd love to show you a tour—"

"And I'd like to come!" Ivan and Feliks said. They glared at each other briefly before looking at Toris.

Alfred rolled his eyes. "Nope! I'm definitely _not_ letting you two come! You've gone on too many tours here. Go and help Francis with...whatever the hell he'll be cooking! Hmph!"

"...Fine."

"Alright, then."

"Bye, Liet!"

"Bye, Toris!"

Toris sighed once they were out of sight. "Thanks, Alfred. I _really_ needed to get them away from me."

"No problem! It's probably tough when both of them want to get their hands on you."

"_What?"_

"Let's start the tour!"

* * *

><p>"And here's Grandpa's old bomber jacket from World War II!" Alfred gently took the brown jacket out from the closet and slipped it on. He gave a small salute. "I look pretty snazzy, huh?"<p>

"It looks nice on you, Alfred." Toris chuckled. From his current tour of the house, Alfred's family was very old and originally made their fortune on the paper company and bootlegging. Alfred proudly showed him the part of the garage where the boats would come in to store the liquor. However, there were some parts of the tour that were quite macabre.

"See where the satellite dish is on top of the roof?" Alfred had looked out a window and pointed at the thing.

Toris nodded.

"That was where Great-Grandpa Jones jumped off the roof when he tried to commit suicide during the Depression. He ended up falling into the pool so he had to shoot himself instead!"

Toris shuddered whenever he looked at the satellite dish. He tried not to.

"Say, Toris?"

"Hmm?"

Alfred took off the jacket and placed it back in the closet.

"Is everything working alright between you and Feliks? After the whole...you know, mix-up and everything? I..." Alfred blushed slightly. "I really _am_ sorry."

"Huh? Oh...Alfred, everything seems to be okay between us. There's nothing wrong." _Except for the fact that he's starting to stalk me for some bizarre reason._

"Ah, that's good. You two were really close. Kinda cute, actually." Alfred muttered that last part. Toris froze and felt the blood rush to his ears.

"Uhh, what was that again?"

"N-nothing. I'm just really happy that you two are still friends."

"Err." Toris looked around. "Nice house."

"Yep. Used to come here every summer when I was a kid. Best days of my life with Grandpa! Now let's check on Feliks and Ivan to see if they're killing each other."

* * *

><p>"Ludwig! Ludwig! Look at all the seagulls!"<p>

"Feliciano, get back here! I have to put sunscreen on you."

Feliciano ignored his boyfriend and ran out on the beach and yelped.

"Ahhh! Ludwig, the sand's really hot!" He ran back to Ludwig and jumped into his arms, wrapping his arms around his neck. "I think I burned my feet..."

Ludwig sighed. "Feliciano, you know better than to run out onto the sand like that." He hoisted the small Italian over his shoulder and carried him up the hill to the fire pit. He placed him on a chair surrounding the pit.

"Ludwig, I know, but I just wanted to see the seagulls."

Ludwig knelt down at the foot of the chair and lifted his leg. "Your foot's a bit red, but it's not burned. Not in the least." He kissed his knee.

Feliciano giggled. "Ludwig, that tickles!"

Ludwig couldn't help but let a chuckle escape him, rubbing his thumb over the knee. He got up and sat down in a nearby chair.

"Ludwig?"

"Yes?"

"Do you...do you think that we'll be together forever?"

Ludwig blinked. This was the second time in the past week that Feliciano had asked him that, and Ludwig had always avoided the question.

"Feliciano..."

This had to be the moment, their moment. It was perfect, with the sea behind them and the gulls overhead. Sure, Alfred would probably get angry since they would "steal" his thunder. Honestly, Ludwig didn't care.

"I..."

He slipped down onto one knee.

* * *

><p>"Alriiiiight, everyone!"<p>

Alfred proudly stood on the beach with sunscreen on his nose and holding a volleyball under one arm. There was a volleyball net set up right on the beach, just a few yards away on the ocean (and the sand was starting to get really hot). Everyone wore their swimming gear and stood in a single row on the side. Toris was at the far right, the farthest away he could get from Ivan and Feliks.

"In order to take stress off everyone, I've decided to hold a mandatory ball game! Everyone has to—hey, where're you two going?"

Elizabeta, who was carrying a laptop case and Kiku had walked away and sat down a few feet away where the sand started to turn into grass and begin to slope upward.

"Sorry, Arfred. We don't want to pray vorreybar," Kiku said. He turned to Lizzie. "Did you downroad za—"

"Got it!" Elizabeta opened her laptop and turned it on.

Alfred scowled. "Fine, you two watch Japanese gay porn or whatever the hell it is." He started to count everyone.

"Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen...Hey, where're Feliciano and Ludwig?"

"I don't know," Lovino said. "They're probably being gay somewhere."

"Oh, yuck!" Alfred yelled. _Gross_! They should get a fucking room or something—and not mine either! Ew!"

He shook his head. "Okay, I guess we have to split up in groups of eight then. Uhh, I want Feliks on my team!"

Feliks blinked. "Alfred, just because I'm gay, doesn't mean I'm good at volleyball. Actually, I suck."

"Well, I still want you on my team. Come on!"

Feliks skipped over to him.

"Who else wants to join? Artieeeee?"

"...Fine."

The single line had broken up and everyone was either talking amongst themselves in groups or going over to one side or another of the volleyball court.

"Ah, Toris!"

Toris turned. "Yeah, Ivan?"

"That's right! I haven't showed you how to play volleyball yet. Well, you can just watch me for now. I'm pretty good." He chuckled. "Join my team, Toris?"

"Oh, of course! And little Raivis will be joining us too."

Thankfully, Toris had his back turned. If not, then he would have seen the look on Feliks' face that wanted to grab the ball out of Alfred's hands and fling it at Ivan's face.

"We need team names," Alfred announced. "Ivan, whaddya wanna call your team?"

Ivan thought for a moment.

"We are going to be Team Stark! From _Game of Thrones_."

"Great! We're going to be—"

"Team Lannister!" Feliks yelled. _"Here Me Roar!"_

"Ohhh, burn, Ivan!" Alfred said. "Lannister is so much more awesome than Stark!"

"Yeah!" Feliks said. "Like, be ready, or we'll cut _your_ heads off!"

Ivan scowled. "We shall see about that, Alfred." He may have said Alfred, but he was looking straight at Feliks, who stuck his tongue out at him. "Raivis, you go in the front."

Raivis shivered and headed to the front of the net.

"Toris, you can go in back of me to my right," Ivan said.

Toris did and folded his hands in front of him. He wasn't completely clueless as to how to play volleyball, but he had never really played it before.

"Everyone in position?" Alfred asked. All of his team was ready—well, except Eduard. Ed was too busy playing with something on his iPhone.

Ivan's team—Toris had no clue what to do, Natalia and Katyusha were arguing about something, Lovino and Antonio were also arguing about something, Raivis was scared out of his mind, Vash looked like he was ready to kill someone (but then again, he always looked like that), and Ivan was probably the only one who actually looked prepared.

"Alllright!" Alfred said. He tossed the ball to Yong Soo. "Hey, Yong Soo, wanna serve?"

Yong Soo gladly caught the ball. "Duh! Of course, I'd want to! Volleyball was invented in Korea, y'know?"

He took a few steps back (Toris wondered where the boundaries were in the sand) and launched the ball over the net.

Natalia and Katyusha screamed and ran. The ball landed several feet away from them, far away from anyone else on the team.

"Our point!" Ivan said. "Katya, can you please get the ball?"

"Nope! Nope! That's in-bounds! It's _our_ point," Alfred said. "Feliks, please get the ball."

"Alfred, that ball was out-of-bounds!" Vash said. Feliks grabbed the ball and ran back to his side.

Alfred looked over at where the ball was at. "Yeah, no. It's still in. Team Lannister gets a point."

"What? Alfred, that was nowhere near in—"

"Feliks, do you want serve this round?" Alfred said.

"Totally, Al. I'd love to." Feliks smiled brightly and served.

"I've got it!" Ivan yelled.

And so the volleying commence.

Toris just stood there the entire time. The ball never went in his direction anyways, and he didn't want to screw it up more. Volleyball was not his sport.

"Ed! Ed! The ball!"

Eduard kept pressing something on his iPhone and slapped the ball without even looking at it. It rolled on the sand. Team Lannister groaned.

"Oh _come on_, Ed!" Alfred yelled. "Put that iPhone away!"

"I'm just downloading this app! Hold on a minute!" Eduard said. "The reception here su—"

"Oh screw it, Ed. You can totally download it later. Give it to me!" Feliks wretched the iPhone out from his hands and threw it far, far away. It spun in the air before falling in the sand.

"M-my iPhone!"

"Oh, suck it up, Ed," Feliks snarled. "Just use your other iPhones. You have, like, five, don't you?"

Eduard blinked and looked like he wanted to cry.

"Alright, well, it's our serve now!" Ivan said. Feliks scowled and threw the ball over.

"Watch me, Toris," Ivan said as he headed behind all of them. "This is how you serve in volleyball."

Compared to Feliks' last serve, Ivan's was...pretty crappy (and this was coming from Toris, who had no volleyball experience). It was very low and grazed the top of the net. Nonetheless, Alfred volleyed it back and the whole cycle started again.

"Ah! Vanya, move please! I have—" Katyusha smacked the ball hard (her breasts made a rather obscene noise as she did so). It sailed far away from the net, hurling through the air, and crashed right into Elizabeta's computer. Sand flew everywhere as both Elizabeta and Kiku screamed and ran for their lives.

"My laptop!" Lizzie said, running back to the poor machine and falling to her knees. "I just downloaded so many more videos on it, and—" She pressed the power button and it whirred back to life. "Oh!"

"Ah! Lizzie, I'm so, _so_ sorry!" Katyusha wailed. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm sorry! I'll pay—"

"Ah, don't worry, Kitty. It still works," Lizzie said. She stood up carrying her laptop and turned to Kiku. "Come on, Kiku. Let's go up to the firepit and watch it there."

Kiku nodded, and they both went up the hill. Katyusha seemed to have composed herself; Ivan patting her back.

Alfred watched them walking and sighed. "Okay, this time, let's have a round where a catastrophe _doesn't_ happen." He ran a hand through his hair. "Err, I'll serve this time." He walked back a bit. "Now _this_ is a real serve. Hi-yah!"

And again the cycle repeated itself.

"Ha! I've got it! Wait!" Raivis set the ball, which unfortunately, went too close to Team Lannister.

"Like, got it!"

_SMACK!_

Raivis fell face-first onto the sand.

"Raivis!" Eduard gasped and ran underneath the net, grabbing his friend by his shoulders and pulling him up to a sit. Blood flowed freely down Raivis' face from both nostrils.

"I-I'm fine!" he said. He covered his nose with his hand, even though blood still came through his fingers. "I can still play."

"Shit, shit, shit!" Feliks flew to Raivis' side. "Raivis, I'msorry, I'msorry, I'msorry, I'm—"

"Little Raivis, you need help," Ivan said, placing his hand on Raivis' shoulder.

Alfred sighed. "Yeah, someone take him upstairs to the kitchen."

Ivan made a move, but Eduard was quicker. He spun Raivis around and led him up the hill. "I'll go do it!" he said. As they went up, small drops of blood dripped onto the sand.

"Err, you know what guys, let's just cancel the whole Alfred-ball game." Alfred put his hand on his face. "I don't want anyone else breaking their nose or losing their phones or making...uhh...weird noises with their—"

"We get it, Alfred!"

"Soooo, yeah." Alfred clapped twice. "You all are free to do whatever you want for the rest of today, just don't destroy anything. Tomorrow we shall be making yummy s'moooores at seven-thirty sharp, and they will be delicious."

By then, everyone was already dispersing, walking down the beach or heading up the stairs. Toris just shrugged and followed Ivan (of course, Feliks was _very_ close behind).

"Oh yeah, I hope everyone remembered to put on sunscreen!"

Everyone stopped.

* * *

><p>Fortunately, Matthew Williams was one of the few people who remembered to put on sunscreen. While everyone else was inside scrambling to put sunscreen on every inch of their body, Matthew decided to take advantage of the quiet outside. He sat down on a chair on the balcony that overlooked the hill, the beach, and the ocean. He took a small sip of Coke and opened his book.<p>

"Happy birthday to me," he hummed. "Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday, dear—"

"Matthew?"

He set his book and soda down on the table and looked towards the door. "Oh, Katyusha, hello!"

She smiled nervously and closed the sliding door behind her. She was holding something behind her back. Unlike the other poor souls, she also seemed to have remembered to put sunscreen on.

"Umm, it's July the First, right?" she said. "May I?"

"Oh, sure!" Matthew pulled out a chair for her.

"Thank you." She sat down and placed a small chocolate cupcake down on the table. There was a small happy face on it made with white icing.

He blinked. "Hey, cute cupcake."

"Umm, y-yes, happy birthday, Matthew!" she said.

He looked at her. "You mean, you remembered?"

"Why would I not remember? Nobody should forget your birthday." She pushed the cupcake towards him. "G-go ahead. Eat it. I swear, I didn't poison i-it or anything."

"Heh." Matthew picked it up. "Th-thank you, Katyusha." She really was too kind.

* * *

><p>"Geez, you wouldn't have thought that Feliks could have thrown your iPhone this far."<p>

Eduard and Raivis were slowly making their way up and down Alfred's beach. Thankfully, Raivis' nose wasn't broken, but there was a large sphere of gauze on it. If the gauze were red, he would have looked just like Rudolph.

Eduard shook his head. "I just can't seem to find it!" he said, kicking the sand with his bare feet and crossing his arms. "Can you please call it again, Raivis?"

The younger one nodded and took out his phone. He pressed a button.

They waited a few moments.

"...Do I heard something vibrating?"

_Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt._

"Gah, where the heck is it coming from?" Eduard started tearing through the sand with his hands, hoping to find the—

"Hey, I found it, Ed!"

Raivis bent down and picked up the phone off the ground. Eduard went over to him and grabbed it from him. He brushed the sand off it and pressed the home button.

"Well, look at this. It's still works." Eduard smiled and tapped on his contacts. Everything still seemed to be in place. "Now if Feliks threw my 3DS, I would be _so—_"

"Do you think Toris is bi?"

Raivis was starting to be awfully fidgety. He moved his foot from side to side and tapped his fingers against his hips. He bit his lip and blushed.

"Umm, I don't know," Eduard said. "It's up to Toris to decide. I, personally, feel that he's just in denial with his feelings towards Feliks."

"Y-yeah, I think that too." Raivis glanced alone. They were alone.

"Feliks is definitely gay, right?" he said.

Eduard raised an eyebrow at him. "Raivis, the man wears _skirts_ and talks like Elle Woods from _Legally Blonde_."

"J-just checking!" Raivis said, his blush deepening. "And you're okay with it?"

Eduard blushed. "Okay with what?"

"Umm, uhh..." Raivis looked down at his feet. "Gay people," he whispered.

"Raivis, if I was a homophobe, I would freak out when Feliks walks into work." Eduard pocketed his phone. "Why're you asking all of these questions, Raivis?"

"U-umm." Raivis glanced around and shivered. "C-can I t-tell you something, Ed? It's...it's kinda important." As he spoke, his voice got quieter and quieter; Eduard could barely hear him at all.

"Rav, you know you can trust me with _anything_, right?" Eduard whispered back and put a comforting hand on Raivis' shoulder. "We're best friends."

Raivis grinned nervously. "Umm, y-yeah, I just forgot. A-anyway, y-y-yeah, what I w-was going to say..."

"Rav, what is it?" Eduard had to lean in order to hear. Their faces were just inches apart.

"Ed?"

Raivis' face was as red as a beet. "I-I-I-I'm...g-g-g—" He gulped. "Ed, I-I'm gay."

"Oh...that's it?" For some bizarre reason, Eduard's face broke out into a smile. "That's all you wanted to tell me, that you're gay?"

Raivis nodded and shirked away from his touch. "I-I'm sorry. You don't like it, do you? A-actually, I-I-I-I—" He scratched his head. "I-I'm not gay. I'm straight. I'm as straight as a—"

"Rav, it's okay." Eduard chuckled. "Rav, it's okay that you're gay. I'm fine with it. Really."

He put his hand on his shoulder again, but Raivis lunged forward and wrapped his arms around his waist, burying his face in his chest. Eduard stumbled back a few steps by the force of his hug.

"R-really?" Raivis whispered.

Eduard blinked a few times before returning the hug, placing one hand on the back of Raivis' head. When did his hair start to feel so soft?

"Really," he said back.

"Th-thank you..." Raivis turned his head so that his left ear was directly over Eduard's heart. Eduard blushed and silently said a prayer that he couldn't hear his heart pound.

"It's nothing, Rav." He continued to grin. "Absolutely nothing at all. Remember, I'll always be your friend, Raivis. Don't ever forget that."

* * *

><p>Feliks sat on the couch in the giant living room, half-heartedly watching <em>Ferris Bueller's Day Off<em>. He had no idea what part he was on, or what quote Matthew Broderick was giving this time. He had more important things on his mind. Ivan was in the small dining room adjacent to the room with the door ajar. The Russian was trying to slather aloe vera all over his burnt body. He had gotten burned really badly during the volleyball game, and he looked like he had floated too close to the sun. Feliks had to look away whenever he saw him or else he would burst out laughing.

_I guess they don't really get much sun in Alaska...or wherever the hell he's from,_ Feliks thought. So far, Ivan hadn't done anything too forward with Toris. But the weekend was still young, and Ivan could pounce at any moment. Feliks had to pounce faster.

The door creaked open and Ivan stepped into the room, every inch of his skin covered in the green gel.

"Oh...hello...Feliks," he said. "How are you?"

"Good," he grunted.

"You haven't gotten sunburnt yet?" Ivan stood in front of a chair, not wanting to get any of the aloe vera on the fabric.

Feliks shook his head. "No, like, my skin looks fine, and I didn't even put sunscreen on."

"Ohhhhh." Half of Ivan's face formed into a knowing smirk. "Ahh, Feliks, do you know where Toris went?"

"No."

"Oh...do you know where he will—?"

"Why the heck are you so interested in him anyways?" Feliks demanded, rounding on Ivan. For once, he did not laugh hysterically. He knew the reason; he just wanted to see Ivan crack.

Ivan blinked. Feliks wondered if he was blushing under all of that burnt skin

"That is not of your concern, Feliks," he said. "I simply wish to talk with him. That is—"

"I totally know that you like him!"

"_What?"_

"Ah!"

Katyusha, who just happened to be walking pass them, flung the bowl of potato chips in the air and onto Ivan and Feliks.

"Feliks, I told you to keep that _private_!" she exclaimed.

"Katya, you _told_ him?" Ivan asked incredulously, his face even more redder than it already was. "I told you to keep it private!"

"Ah, I'm sorry, Vanya." Tears started to form in her eyes. "It's just...I...I...I'm so sorry!"

"Why, Katya?" he demanded. "Why did you tell him?"

"'Cause, like, I like Toris," Feliks said.

"Anybody with a mind can tell that." Ivan scoffed.

Feliks huffed but couldn't help the new blush on his face. "Shut it, Ivan! Of course I like him." He pouted.

"Please, _please_ stop it, you two," Katyusha said. "Why can't you both just get along?"

"Toris likes me more. We're better friends," Ivan growled.

"Are you sure? We're, like, BFFs," Feliks said. "I even, like, gave him a nickname. A _nickname_. _Beat it_!"

* * *

><p>Toris needed ice. A lot of ice. He was stupid this morning and forgot to put on some sunscreen, and now he looked like he had been baking in an oven for hours. He wasn't even in pain yet, but he knew that he needed to put on something before he was screaming and flailing in bed from the pain.<p>

He went downstairs into the living room and found Feliks and Ivan arguing over something and Katyusha trying to calm them down. Naturally, Toris avoided them and headed into the kitchen. Where was the aloe vera again?

"—that's how the New Haven branch is trying to prevent down-sizing," Alfred was saying. He currently stuffed candy into a—Good God, where did he manage to _find_ a piñata like _that_?

_I have a feeling I'm not supposed to be listening to this conversation._

Arthur shook his head. "Perhaps, if we try that, then our branch would be saved. We _do _have Harvard, after all."

"Yeah. Now if only we could become _their_ paper provider, then maybe we could make it."

"And if we don't?"

"Well...it was nice knowing you, Art."

"Are you serious? They would close the branch? _Our_ branch?"

Alfred nodded.

"'Course. You heard Emilie. They're all alligators up in corporate. They don't care."

Toris froze, his hand half-reaching towards the aloe vera.

"Alfred, just what on earth are you going to tell everyone else?"

"I don't know...I don't think I'm going to tell them at all. I mean, it's my birthday. I don't want them to feel down or anything." He sighed. "Maybe I can tell them later."

"Later might be too late."

"I know."

Toris gulped, grabbed the aloe vera, and ran out of there.

By the time he passed by the living room, he could still hear Ivan and Feliks fighting.

"Feliks, your head is shaped like a trapezoid."

"Well, like, you have a really big nose! And you look stupid."

Toris peeked inside. They were still dueling it out, and now a small crowd had joined to watch them. Yong Soo and Yao were even passing around some snacks. Feliks and Ivan were in the middle of the room, glaring at each other, trying to incinerate the other by intimidation.

"God, Ivan, why can't you butt out of my business?"

"I can't if it concerns me, and _this time_ it does."

"Go away! I don't need you to ruin this for me."

"_My Little Pony _is for idiots."

"Shut up! It's, like, the best show ever!"

And before he could even think about what he was saying, Toris ran into the room.

"_Enough, you two! Don't you realize that we can all lose our jobs within the next month?"_

Everyone stopped and stared at him in absolute horror. And then—

"What the hell?"

"_Are you fucking kidding me?"_

"Where the hell did you hear that?"

"That's bullshit!"

Toris took a few steps back as everyone rushed towards him, like a stampede—all ten of them.

"Where'd you hear that?"

"Is it true?"

"Why hasn't Alfred told us anything?"

"What the heck? _You're_ the newbie!"

"Hey. Hey. _HEY!_"

Alfred stood in the doorway, Arthur right next to him. Almost immediately, the swarm left Toris to accost him.

"Alfred!"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Are we losing our jobs?"

Alfred raised his palms. "Whoa, whoa, whoa there, guys," he said. "What's all this?"

"Toris said that we were going to lose our jobs," Vash said.

"When the heck were you gonna tell us this, Alfred?" Elizabeta said.

Alfred gulped. "Just calm down, everyone. We're not all out of jobs yet. Besides, _I'm_ the ancestor of the company's founder."

_Ancestor?_ Toris raised an eyebrow.

"We just have to work a bit harder to keep our jobs," he said. "This means that we've just gotta sell more paper. Toris, got it all wrong. Why were you all in here anyways?"

Could he _really_ not hear what was going on? Everyone was silent.

"Oookay then, weirdoes. Back to...well, whatever the heck it was you were doing." He went back inside the kitchen with Arthur.

In an ironic twist from what happened a few days ago, everyone turned and glared at Toris.

* * *

><p>"Ve? Fratello?"<p>

Lovino turned his head away from the pot of pasta he was cooking for dinner (Alfred only planned on feeding his guests during the actual party; for all other meals, they were on their own as long as they kept the fridge clean).

"Lovino?"

"Yeah, what is it?" he asked, starting to stir.

"Say...what if the branch _does_ close down?"

Lovino shrugged. "I dunno." Now that he was thinking about it, without this job, where _would_ he go? He couldn't exactly go back to New York; the mafia would kill him within a ten-mile radius of Manhattan. Maybe, he would ask Antonio...

"W-Well, I'm thinking..." Feliciano looked up. "Lovi, what if we start up Nonno Roma's restaurant again?" he said hopefully. "I think I might have some of the old menus, and Ludwig can help us pay for it—"

"I will _not_ have Mister Potato paying for _our_ Italian restaurant, if I even _want_ one. Boston doesn't have a shortage of Italian restaurants, you know?"

"Y-Yeah, but I mean, wouldn't it be fun, starting up the family business again?"

"I-I suppose, b-but..." He bit his lip. "Fratello, what if I already have plans?"

Feliciano's eyes widened. "Plans? What kind of—" His eyes narrowed. "Wait, don't tell me you're going to go back to New York!"

"Moron. I value my life more than that," he said. "I meant...something else."

"Oh...okay. Well, if you decide to move or anything, don't worry about me. I'll have Ludwig to support me."

Lovino sighed. "He's your _boyfriend_, not your—"

Feliciano smiled.

"Why the hell are you smiling like that?"

Still smiling.

"You're starting to creep me out."

"Fratello, guess what happened to me?"

"No idea."

"Ludwig asked me to marry him!"

Whoa.

"And I said yes!"

"WHAT?"

* * *

><p>Te-he, I like to leave you guys off, don't I? 8D Chapter 10 will be epic, dramatic, and heartbreaking.<p>

Also, none of you have guessed the correct piñata, but ALL WILL BE REVEALED.

I hope some of you got the reference during the volleyball game. One of my favorite TV shows and book series EVER.

Well, it's 2:12 AM over here, so I better go get some ZZZZZs for school tomorrow.

Read and review!


	10. Chapter 10

/is dead

H-H-Hey guys. So, here's that Chapter 10 I told you about. It's over 10...11,000 words at this point, so I really hope you enjoy it, even though it took me FOREVER to crank it out. Thank you all for sticking by me for this story. It's really appreciated. :) ((Although, there was considerably _less_ reviews last chapter than the previous one. I've got enough people on Alert and Favs, so can y'all just kick it up a bit? It'll only take ya 10 seconds. Thanks. :) ))

I hope that the length of this chapter makes up for the time I've been gone. School's been less hectic, since I've finally come to terms that I'm an insomniac. 8D So now I have time to write more~

Oh! And the identity of the mysterious piñata has been revealed! Only one of you came _close_! (Patriotism 8D)

Random: For some reason, I see Toris here as a combination of Pam from the Office and Ben from Parks and Rec. Idk why. Probably because I see him as a really awkward guy.

**Warnings:** Language, LIETPOL, some sexual situations, USUK, Spamano, beginnings of RussLiet, angstangstangst, sadness, and My Little Pony

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

* * *

><p>Toris sighed and looked out the window of Raivis' and Eduard's room. It was one of the few areas where he could be alone (well, Raivis and Eduard would talk amongst each other), and he could just <em>think<em> without an annoying blond or a nosy Russian constantly pestering him.

The view wasn't as good as the view from his room—it was just a first-story view of the street, but Toris wished that he could see the ocean right now. It would soothe him from no end.

_Why do those two keep following me?_ he wondered. _I mean, I know that it's 'cause Feliks—_His stomach gave a lurch when he thought of him—_likes me. But Ivan. Ivan. What's he trying to do? Did he figure that I needed to be around someone else other than Feliks? It's true to an extent, I suppose. I don't even think he likes me...like...like how Feliks likes me. I can't see Ivan being gay or bi. He's just a friend of mine. Yes, that's right. A really good friend._

Toris pouted but rested his head on the windowsill. _But...but Feliks. Why can't I get him out of my mind?I don't "like" like him...do I?_

"_Gah!"_

"Toris, did you say something?"

Raivis and Eduard were staring at him. Eduard looked slightly ticked off.

"U-Umm, it's nothing, guys. Really?"

"Is it about Feliks?" Raivis asked.

"_Rav!"_ Eduard exclaimed, blushing.

"What, it's the only thing that could possibly—Mmmf!"

Eduard had cupped a hand over his mouth. "Hehe, sorry about that Toris."

Toris narrowed his eyes. "What are you two saying?"

Eduard and Raivis gave each other a brief glance. Eduard released Raivis' mouth.

"Well, it's a little obvious, Toris," he said.

Toris blinked, shaking his head. "I-I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Please. You and Feliks."

He blushed. "Wh-what?"

Eduard rolled his eyes. "We've been watching you and him ever since the laser tag match."

Toris gulped. "Wha...? Wait a minute, who's _we_?"

"Uhh..."

"Me," Raivis said.

"And me."

"And Elizabeta."

"_Hush!"_

"And the—"

Eduard put his hand on his mouth again. "In other words, Toris, you seriously have to sort this out. You can't be confused about this forever."

Toris blushed. "Confused about _what_? I'm not confused about _anything_!"

Eduard huffed. "Fine. I'll do this." He released Raivis' mouth again.

"Toris, is Feliks your friend?"

"Yeah..."

"He's been your friend ever since you started working, right?"

"Yes."

"You've been having weird dreams about him right?"

"...Yes..."

"Toris, are you bi?"

"Yes. Wait—"

Absolute silence.

"Uh-umm..."

"Whoa."

"I knew it!"

Toris looked up at them. Wait, wait, wait, wait, _what just happened_?

"Umm...Sorry, guys, but umm, I really have to go! B-bye!"

And with that, Toris rushed out of the room.

Eduard sighed.

"And I'd thought he'd never leave."

* * *

><p>"A-Ahh! Antonio!"<p>

"_Lovito_, just stay still. It won't hurt as much..."

"Gah!" Lovino hissed. "Bastard. I could do this by myself."

"You can't reach your back, Lovi."

Lovino groaned. "I know..."

Antonio poured some of the blue aloe vera onto Lovino's back and rubbed it all over his red skin. The aloe vera immediately began to sink in.

"Lovi, you really should be more careful," he said, squeezing some more out of the tub.

Lovino winced. "I-I know that already. Idiot." He moaned.

"Was that part good?"

"Nnn, yeah..."

Antonio kissed the top of his head. "Good."

Lovino bit his lip, closing his eyes a little.

"Hey...Antonio...?"

"Yeah, Lovi?"

"Hypothetically speaking, what would you do if our branched closed? This is all hypothetical, of course."

Antonio thought. "I guess I would move back to California to work on my family's tomato farm."

Lovino's heart sank, and his shoulders slumped. "Back...to California? Like, the West Coast?" _Not here..._

"Um, yeah? Why do you ask?"

"I want to move with you," Lovino said. "I don't want to be stuck here with my brother and his stupid kraut boyfriend, fiancé, whatever."

Antonio blinked and gasped. "Lovi, you know I can't let you do that! You have all of your family here and your livelihood and—and California is _so_ much different."

"Who cares?" Lovino stood up and faced him. "I wouldn't care as long as I'm with you, you idiot."

"H-have you even—wait, I thought this was all hypothetical," Antonio said, a puzzled expression on his face. "Why are you asking me this?"

"J-Just in case!" Lovino said. "I'm just asking."

Antonio sighed. "Turn around again so I can put more aloe vera on you."

Lovino grumbled and turned around. His face reddened (and not from sunburn), and he wanted to bury his head in his hands. Would it be way to forward to ask him this now? He thought that this would lead up to it, but with Antonio so against the idea...would he really want to move in with him?

"Hypothetically speaking, what would _you_ do, Lovi?"

Antonio's voice jarred him from his thoughts.

"N-Nothing much. Feliciano's thinking of restarting Nono's old restaurant, with..._him_ wanting to help out."

"Who? Ludwig?"

"Yes..."

"Oh...well..." Antonio wasn't Ludwig's friend, but he was at least cordial with him.

"Yeah...I kinda don't want to do that..."

Antonio continued to rub Lovino's back.

"Hey, Lovi?"

"Hm?"

"Can I talk to you about...well, _us_?"

Lovino gulped. No. No. No. Not now. _Please God, not right now_. "Yeah?"

"Well..." Antonio stopped rubbing him and sighed. "I'm a little tired of making our relationship private. I want the whole office to know that you're mine. And...I'm really sick of slinking around in the dark." He trailed a few fingers down his back.

Lovino sat in silence. As much as he would like it, it would be too soon. Too soon. Especially right after Feliciano's engagement. Lovino couldn't do this. Everyone would just think he was stealing his brother's thunder. And Lovino did _not_ want that to stain his reputation, as much as he—dare he thought this—_love_ Antonio.

"Umm...that's good, Antonio. But no..."

"Why?" If Lovino turned around, he could have seen Antonio's hurt face.

Lovino shrugged. "Not now. I don't want to come out to everyone just yet."

Antonio spread some more aloe vera across his back. "Whatever suits you, I suppose, Lovi. Whenever you're ready. Hey?"

"Hmm?"

"Imagine the look on everyone's faces when they find out about us."

* * *

><p>"No. No. No. No."<p>

"I'm straight. I'm straight."

"No homo. No homo."

"I...oh, dammit, I think I like Feliks..."

Toris sat down on his bed and gave a great sigh. He was all alone in his room for once. The sun vanished from the horizon, replaced with stars and blackness. Everyone but him was downstairs for Alfred's little s'mores get-together (despite the fact that they were extremely simple, Alfred made _killer_ s'mores. Or so he heard). Feliks had gone down with Elizabeta and Katyusha, and Ivan went down with Natalia and Yao, leaving Toris alone.

Like he would talk to himself if there was anyone in the room.

He shook his head.

"Okay, okay, so hypothetically speaking—" He stood up and started walking again. "Let's just say that I _am_ bi. Okay, what do I do now? Do I go and tell everyone? Do I just go on with my daily life? Do I see a therapist? Do I—? Grr..." He jumped up and down, holding his head.

"_DO I—DO I—DO I—"_

"Uhh, Toris?"

"O-Oh..."

He uneventfully flopped onto his bed and sat up.

His visitor tilted his head to the side. "Uhh, dude, are you okay?"

Toris nodded. "No problem at all. I'm fine."

"Really? 'Cause you were kinda freaking out just now..."

"I'm fine. Truly, Alfred."

The blond sat down next to him and smiled. "I was just getting a little worried, seeing as you didn't come down to the s'mores part-_ay_ and all. I brought you some." He held up a plate. "I thought you might like them."

Toris smiled half-heartedly and picked one up. It was still warm. "Thanks."

"No prob!" Alfred took a s'more and bit off half of it. "Derr schtill werry werm!"

"What?"

Alfred swallowed. "They're still really warm."

"Oh...yeah, I felt that when I picked mine up."

Alfred blinked again, biting into his s'more. This time, he waited until after he swallowed to speak.

"Dude, is everything seriously okay? You haven't gone out of the house all day today. Actually, make that only the third and second floors. What's wrong?" Alfred pouted. "I want to know."

Toris shook his head. "It's nothing. It's just...internal struggle stuff. Boring, really."

"It can't be that boring if you've been stuck up here all day. Come on, you can tell me."

Toris shot him a glare. Alfred acting as his therapist. Really? "And have my problems spread like wildfire all around the office? Please."

Alfred frowned. "I-I do admit, that _was_ a rather dick move of mine—"

"You made Feliks cry."

"Yeah. That was awful. I don't think I've ever seen him cry like that before. Well...exc—yeah, I don't think I've ever seen him cry before."

"Mmm..." Toris bit into his s'more.

"Hey, this really is good!"

Alfred laughed. "See, I told you you'd feel better!"

"You never said that."

"Oh...well, I thought that." Alfred shrugged.

"Isn't it a little lonely up here, with everyone downstairs at the s'mores part-_ay_?"

Toris shook his head again. "Nah, I'm fine. I just need to think."

Alfred nodded. "Understandable. Everyone needs some time to think for themselves."

"I guess." Toris shrugged.

"So...about your little problem..."

"I don't have a problem."

"If you did...well, I just want to say to just be true to your heart. In this case, do whatever it tells you. That's what I do." He looked up at the ceiling.

Toris looked up too. "Huh. I guess if you put it that way. Thanks."

"Sure thing. No prob. I don't mind giving some advice to people who need it."

Toris ate more of the s'more.

"Damn, I really need to clean the ceiling," Alfred said.

* * *

><p>He really didn't want to call his brother. He really, <em>really<em> didn't. But he _was_ getting married, so he had to tell him _sometime_.

Ludwig sat on the couch with his phone in hand, toweling off the sweat on his forehead. He had already gone for an early-morning jog on the beach, and he wanted to cool off a little before taking a shower.

"Come on, Gilbert," he muttered. "Pick up your phone."

"_Hello?"_

"Good morning, Gilbert."

"Ahhh, hey, West!"

"I told you not to call me that anymore," he growled.

"Hey, it's not my fault you went to an _inferior school_."

Ludwig sigh in exasperation. He still wondered how they could be related. He also wondered how Gilbert could be the older one.

"Anyway, I have something to tell you."

"Obviously. It's—what, eight-thirty? You're lucky I got up to yell at my neighbor's dog. I hate that thing. I don't know how you can live with your dogs. I still have my little—"

"_Gilbert."_

"Hahaha, sorry, West. What was it you were talking about?"

"I proposed to Feliciano."

"Oh my God, are you serious?"

"Yes. I am."

"Oh God, what?"

"And he said yes."

"Ahahahaha, really? He's totally not your type. I still can't believe that he's stuck with you for such a long time."

"Yes. He has."

"Hehehe, congrats, West! I can't believe you had it in you. So, are you going to have a gay wedding?" He snickered.

"No."

"Awww. I would've loved to see Feliciano in a—"

"I was being sarcastic, Gilbert."

"Oh duh! I _totally_ got that. This makes _two_ gay weddings that going on this year."

"Oh yes, Berwald and Tino. One of my co-workers told me."

"Haha, was it the gay four-eyed nerd from MIT?"

"He's not gay, Gilbert."

"He _iiiiiis_. Didn't you see him act at the last company picnic? Oh, speaking of four-eyes, can you believe what I did to Specs this last week?"

"_Gilbert."_

"I—I moved his desk to the bathroom!" He laughed. "Oh my God, it was probably the _funniest_ prank I ever pulled on him. You should've been there. Matthias helped me out. Oh God, you should've seen the look on Specs' face—"

"_Goodbye."_

* * *

><p>Toris scooped up the blackened piece of egg and placed it on the plate. It was Sunday morning, the day right before Alfred's birthday. It was eight-thirty, and no one else aside from Ludwig was up.<p>

Toris broke off a piece of crunchy egg and ate it. _I should really learn how to cook again._ He made a face and dumped the egg in the trash can.

He had pretended to be asleep before Ivan and Feliks came back into the room, but he had been awake. Oh yes, he had been awake. He had been awake trying to figure out what the heck was going on with him.

_Well, what will be, will be,_ he thought, opening the freezer and hoping that Alfred had a Lean Cuisine or something. _If I'm bi, that's okay. If I'm not, that's okay, too._ In the fridge, all that he found was burger patties, burger patties, and something that looked like steak.

"Hey, need help?"

Toris closed the freezer door and jumped. There stood Feliks, leaning against the counter and holding the egg carton. Toris gulped, and his heart raced.

"H-hey. Umm, sure."

Feliks went over to the stove and looked at the pan. "Oh yuck! Didn't you learn how to _cook_ wherever you went to college?"

"...I cooked cup of noodles."

Feliks scoffed. "Toris, that is _so_ not cooking! Come on, lemme show you."

He cracked open a few eggs and started frying them. At least he didn't let them sit like Toris did.

"Like, I didn't see you at the party yesterday," he said. He stirred the eggs. "Is everything okay?"

Dammit. That was the last thing that he wanted him to ask.

"I-I'm fine. Nothing to worry about. Nice eggs."

"Thanks." Feliks giggled. "Eggs...Anyways, why didn't you come?"

Toris shrugged. "No reason. Parties like that aren't really my thing." _And I kinda wanted to get away from you._

"Aww, that's too bad. It was really fun. Someone slipped some vodka into Katyusha's s'mores somehow, and she's actually funnier when she's a little tipsy. I don't even know how you put vodka into s'mores..."

"Heh, cool."

Feliks lowered the flame, taking care to gently turn the eggs. "So...can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure thing, Fel. Hey, do you need any help?"

"Uhh, thanks, Toris, but no. Listen, about Ivan—"

Toris felt himself blush. "What about him?"

"Hey, you know that favor you owe me when I saved your ass during your first sales-call?"

"Uhh, yes...?"

"Well...I have a favor for you."

"What is it?"

"Can you, like, stop talking to Ivan? Like...forever?"

Toris scoffed. "Fel, you can't be serious."

Feliks turned off the fire and looked straight at him. "I'm dead serious. I don't want you talking to him."

"Oookay, Feliks. That's not creepy." He chuckled and pretended to concentrate on a crack in the table.

"I'm serious, Toris. He could do bad things to you."

"Like, what, give me sunflowers?"

"Y-Ye—No..." Feliks sighed. "Still just don't talk to him please. For my sake."

Toris looked at him again and raised an eyebrow. "Ooookay, I'll try," he lied.

Feliks released a breath. "Whew, that went better than expected. Thanks so much, Toris! You won't regret it."

_I wouldn't be so sure about that..._

* * *

><p>Ivan took one step forward and stopped. His fingers fidgeted in his pocket. He just needed to man up and do this. What's the worst that could come out of this? He would say, no, yes, but would he really? Ivan didn't think so.<p>

He came forward and sat down on the couch, taking care that none of the fabric touched his red skin. "U-Um...Yao Yao?"

"Hmm?" Yao pressed something on his iPad knock-off and looked at Ivan. "Yes?"

"Can I ask you for some advice?"

"Oh, yes. Hold on a minute please." Yao pressed something else again and settled the fake iPad on his lap. "What is it, Ivan?"

Ivan bit his lip. He _had_ to ask Yao about this. He couldn't do it with Katyusha—she would freak out. Natalia was out of the question—she would cry and try to kill Toris.

"It...It's about a co-worker of mine. I...I think I might have feelings for him."

Yao perked up, all of his attention focused on Ivan. "Yes?"

"Well...I've had these feelings for him for a long time. The problem is, I don't think he feels the same way about me."

"Ivan, you can't be so sure of that!" Yao said. "What makes you say that?"

"I don't know if he's straight or not."

"O-Oh...Can't you just ask him? I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Oh, people these days..."

"I-I think he's going through an...an identity crisis right now. He stays up in our room most of the time, and he almost never comes out. He didn't even come out for Alfred's little s'mores...whatever that was. I think he's just confused."

"...Oh..."

Yao seemed to deflate; he frowned, and his shoulders slagged, his hands resting limply on his thighs.

"What's wrong, Yao Yao?"

"Ahh, nothing." Yao shook his head and straightened his posture. "So...this friend you like. How do you know that they don't like you back?"

"I don't know. I just..._know_! He...he has another friend, who...who likes him too. A lot."

"Why don't you fight for him?"

Ivan shook his head. "No...I can't do that. He'll probably turn me down anyways."

"You won't know unless you ask him, right?"

"I suppose."

"Why don't you ask him?"

Ivan shrugged. "I...I think I might be scared."

"Don't be. The most that can happen is that he'll reject you, right?"

"Yes. I...I shouldn't be afraid of this. I have a feeling that he's bi anyways." Ivan stood up. "Thank you, Yao Yao. For your advice. I'll be sure to not forget it."

* * *

><p><em>Oh God. Oh God. Oh my gosh!<em>

After breakfast, Feliks went up to his room and flopped down onto his bed (making sure no one was around), grabbed one of the pillows and held it to his chest, and rolled around and squealed.

_Oh gosh! Oh gosh! Oh my God! I can't believe I actually did that!_

He stopped rolling and stared at the ceiling, pillow to his chest. Despair settled in the pit of his stomach. _Oh God. Oh God. Feliks, what've you done?_

He threw the pillow across the room and buried his head in the covers. _Oh my God. Why? Why? Why? Feliks, why did you make such a _stupid _decision?_

He whimpered and threw another pillow over his face. _Idiot. Why the hell did you ask Toris that? _His face burned. He couldn't bear to look at Toris ever again. _It's all your fault, Feliks. You just _had_ to ask __him to not talk to Ivan._

He sighed and rolled over. Something _clunked_ onto the floor, but Feliks was too distracted to notice it.

_Like...seriously?_

He groaned and shut his eyes. _The pillow's already on your head. You already can't see, dumbass._

He sighed and took the pillow off. _Feliks...just...chillax. Toris probably ignored you anyways. Oh God, if he did ignore me then he probably thinks I'm crazy now, for asking him that._ He slammed the pillow on his face again. _Oh dammit. Why? Why? Why? Why?_He screamed.

"_Into the Gala, we must go; we're ready now, we're all aglow!"_

He took the pillow off again. Who the heck was thinking of calling him right now?

But more importantly, where was his phone?

Dammit.

He tore off the bedsheets and pillow and the pillow_cases_, but all of the upturned linen did not yield a phone.

"—_have the best night ever! Into the Gala, now's the time—we're ready and we_—"

Why didn't he think about searching the floor?

"_Into—"_

"Hello?"

"Hi, Feliks."

The blond sat down. He was sure his hand was going to become sweaty. "Hey...Emilie..."

"I hope this isn't an inconvenient time—"

Feliks shook his head. "No, no, no, not at all. Why are you calling?"

"I'm just wondering if our interview's still on for the 6th. You know, about the position in Albany you called me about?"

"Oh...Yeah, it should be still on."

"Alright. Just wondering. You kinda filed for it at the last minute, so I was just wondering if you were still serious about it."

"Y-Yeah, I'm still serious about it."

"There's nothing to be scared of. Are you still having some doubts?"

"Err...I-I..." Feliks shook his head. "No, Em. I'm fine. So, guess I'll see you in New York, huh?"

"Yeah. Bye, Feliks."

"Bye, Em."

Feliks turned off his phone and laid his head down. What was he doing?

* * *

><p>"Toriiiiiiiis!"<p>

Toris looked up from his bed Ivan stood in the doorway. He had taken off his shirt and held a bottle of aloe vera. Toris blushed, and he wasn't sure if it was because Ivan was shirtless or because he was sunburnt all over his body.

"Uhh, hi, Ivan," he said. "What's up?"

"Ahh, nothing, Toris. I was just wondering if you can put some aloe vera on my body. It hurts a lot."

Toris' blush grew deeper. "U-Umm, uhh, really? Me?"

"Yes. I hope you don't mind." Ivan closed his eyes and smiled.

"Uhh, sure...Ivan..."

He hadn't even rubbed sunscreen over a _girl_, much less aloe vera over a _guy_.

"If you insist..."

"_Brother!"_

Ivan ran behind Toris.

"N-Natasha?"

The platinum blonde stood unblinkingly where Ivan stood just a few seconds before.

"Brother, I heard you needed help."

Ivan's eyes darted from Toris to Natalia.

"I-I guess I do, but T-Toris already agreed to help me out."

"No, he didn't."

"Yes, he did."

"No, he didn't."

"Yes, he—"

"Enough. Vanya, let me rub the aloe vera over your body. I know just where you like it."

"Umm, uhh, umm—"

For once, Toris couldn't be more grateful for Natalia's entrance.

"I have to pee," he said, and dashed out of the room.

* * *

><p>Toris licked his lips and ran his tongue down Feliks' chest, stopping hear and there to suck and give a quick nip.<p>

"Do you plan to behave, Feliks?"

The blond moaned underneath him, struggling at the handcuffs, his schoolgirl skirt barely rising over his ass.

"Oh God, Toris. Y-Yes! Please, I'm begging you." His eyes were screwed shut and his face and neck were red. Toris wanted to touch himself _so badly_ at the erotic sight.

"Good." Toris ran a hand up the blond's smooth pale thigh, stopping at his crotch and cupping the bulge.

Feliks squealed and squirmed. "T-Toris!"

"Hush." Toris silenced him with a kiss, continuing to knead him. "Don't do that."

Feliks gulped and moaned again. Toris touched the waistband of his skirt.

"Are you ready, Fel?"

Feliks' eyes fluttered open, swimming in lust.

"You bet I am."

Toris undid the zipper and button and lowered his skirt.

_HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK._

"_Ahhhhhh!"_

_Thunk!_

Toris found himself on the floor and a large bump on his head.

"Like, what the hell was that?" Feliks shot up, holding his fuzzy purple pony.

Ivan gave a groan and rolled over. "What time...?"

_HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK._

"Oh my God, if it's Alfred with that _stupid_ blowhorn of his. I _will—_"

_HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK._

Toris felt something wet and sticky on his sheets. Surely, he didn't _wet_ himself, did—?

He looked down.

No, he did something worse.

Why couldn't he just crawl back into bed and wake up before everyone to change his pants?

_HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK._

Right. That.

Toris stumbled to his feet, holding the sheets around his waist (making sure that the soiled parts were tucked away).

"What's happening?"

Ivan yawned, getting out of bed. "I think it's midnight."

"What's so important about midnight?" Toris trudged towards the door and threw it open. The sounds of his other disgruntled co-workers echoed off the walls.

_HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK._

The pony hit the wall with a _thunk_.

"Dammit, Alfred!"

"_Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!"_

Toris groaned and began the long trek downstairs. He didn't even remember what happened half the time. He _did_ remember knocking Raivis out of the way.

By the time he got to the bottom of the stairs, everyone huddled near the couch looking like zombies and holding pillows and bedsheets, and Alfred stood on top of the table (which he had somehow managed to drag in), wearing a party hat and carrying a bear horn.

"EVERYOOOOOOOOOOOONE!" he yelled. "I would just like to say thank you all for coming to Nantucket for my birthday."

"You gave us an extra day."

"Shut _it_, Ludwig." Alfred beamed.

"Hey guys! It's midnight! Do you know what that means?"

"_Sleep."_

"No. It's my birthday! I'm twenty-six as of—" He looked at his watch. "—twelve...o'...six! The exact moment when I emerged from my mother's vagina."

A collective groan rose up from the group.

"Did we seriously have to know that, Alfred?" Elizabeta asked.

Alfred gasped. "Of _course_ you have to Elizabeta. I think that you of all people should know how important a vagina is!"

"Hey, what's _that_ suppose to mean?"

"Alright, alright." Arthur raised his hands. "I—_we—_" He glared at Alfred. "—apologize for the inconvenience."

"Do we eat cake now?"

"No."

"Not even ice cream?"

"No, Ivan."

"How about—?"

"No. Now go get some rest, all of you."

Everyone groggily picked themselves up and lurched towards the stairs.

"Ohhey!" Alfred exclaimed. "Don't forget, I'm making brunch for all of you guys! Be in the dining room at eleven sharp. If not...well, no breakfast. Go to bed." He herded them up the stairs. "Pip pip!"

Toris remembered nothing except for collapsing onto his bed. Feliks flashed a glance in his bed's direction and said,

"Oh, Toris, guh-_ross_!"

* * *

><p>Toris could not remember waking up to a brighter morning. Literally. The sun might have been rising from the opposite direction, but it was still incredibly bright outside.<p>

He unwillingly opened his eyes and rolled over. Ivan had already gotten up. So much for changing his pants before everyone else got up.

He rolled over again, facing Feliks. Feliks had drooled all over his pillow, his sheets, and his pony, his hair splayed all around his head. This so very tempted Toris to take out his phone and get a picture. But he had another pressing issue at hand.

He ungracefully slid out of bed and wobbled over to his suitcase, pulling out a pair of shorts and boxers and a shirt. He went over to the (thankfully) empty bathroom and changed, grimacing when he took off his lower garments.

_Ugh. Gross. I really have to wash these when I get home._

Toris threw his soiled clothes in his suitcase and went out. Knowing Feliks, he would probably scream at him if he tried to wake him up.

Downstairs, the delicious smell of the brunch hit Toris' nostrils like a tidal wave. Bacon, eggs, waffles, pancakes, burgers. Alfred really must had a feast in store for them. He was the last one downstairs (except from Feliks), everyone else was either outside or watching the morning news.

"Does Alfred really outdo himself for this or what?" Toris asked Eduard.

"Yeah," Eduard said, looking up from his iPad, "and the best part is that he lets Francis and Matthew help him cook instead of Arthur!" Arthur sat forlornly in a corner reading _Harry Potter_.

"What's so bad about Arthur cooking?"

"And _how long_ have you worked with us?"

Toris shrugged. "Anyways, what're you playing on your iPad?"

"Oh, it's—"

The kitchen door burst open.

"BRUNCH IS READY!" Alfred yelled. He twirled a chef's hat in one hand, his apron splattered with grease.

"Come on, everybody. We'll be eating outside today. Seriously, look at how gorgeous it is! It's a great day to celebrate my birthday, huh? I wonder how it must've looked when I was born..."

Alfred ushered everyone outside to the patio overlooking the shore. On the long table laid plates with nearly every type of brunch food possibly. Toris' mouth watered, and his stomach growled as he sat down. Ivan sat down next to him, smiling warmly. Oh, forget Feliks' promise. Toris wanted to talk to him anyways.

Alfred took his place at the end of the table. "Well, dig in! There's enough for everyone."

Toris reached for the bacon and yogurt, but they were already half gone by the time he got there. Most of the food vanished due to the fifteen-plus employees vying for the same kind of food. The most that Toris got was some toast and half a strawberry crêpe (Yong Soo stole the other half).

"Toris, would you like some of my food?" Ivan asked, holding out his plate for him. Ivan managed to snag nearly everything on the table.

"O-Oh, thank you, Ivan," he said. "I think I'll take a pancake." He took one off his plate with a fork.

"Ah, I hope Matthew made these. He makes the best pancakes." Ivan bit into a cracker. "Toris, I haven't had the chance to talk to you recently. Every time I try to talk to you, you're either asleep, or with...someone else." He spat out the last two words. Toris wondered who he meant.

"Oh yes. Sorry about that. I just really like sleeping."

"Well, sleeping all the time cannot be good for you. You should really get out more." He chewed a bit off his sausage.

"Y-Yeah, I guess. I _do_ stay inside a lot, hu—?"

_SPLAT!_

A giant pancake with strawberries and whipped cream flew across the table and landed right on Ivan's face.

Everyone stopped eating and stared at Ivan, a few snickers coming from some of them. Alfred smiled.

Ivan took off the pancake, cream and strawberry syrup all over his face, and put it back on the plate.

"Now." He smiled, but there was something that was just so _evil_ in his eyes and a dark aura settled over him, like when Feliks had put that worm on his computer. "Can somebody please _tell me _who threw that?" His eyes scanned the table and landed on Feliks.

Feliks rebelliously pouted at him and ate a strawberry, a single line of red juice dripping down his chin.

"Yum."

Alfred suddenly gasped and gathered up a couple of pieces of fruit in his arms. "Oh! Oh! Oh! _Food fight_!" He flung some grapes at Arthur's head.

All hell broke loose. It was as if Alfred had thrown some meat into a wolf pen. With very hungry wolves.

Toris had no idea which food came from who or _what_ exactly was being thrown. The whole patio was absolute chaos—Ivan and Feliks were shouting again, Katyusha held Natalia from behind and kept her from knifing whoever threw that cantaloupe that hit her dress, and Alfred's maniacal laughter was the loudest of all, rising far above the Pandemonium.

_I need to get out of here,_ Toris thought. _I need to get out of here now before I get hurt._ Some crêpe whizzed by his ear. Yao attempted to strangle Yong Soo, and Kiku pleaded with him not to. Elizabeta got between Ivan and Feliks and shouted at Ivan along with Feliks. Raivis and Eduard stood off to the side, trying to get away from this mess as much as Toris. Eduard's eyes met Toris', and he gestured towards the patio door, which was quite a long ways away (not to mention the Feliks-Elizabeta-Ivan argument went on in front of it). Toris shrugged and shook his head, not wanting to get in the middle of that fight at all.

_HOOOOOOOOONK. HONK. HONK._

"Stop! Stop! All of you!"

Everyone stopped and listened. Arthur stood up on the table, holding that damn bear horn.

"You people have absolutely no sense of _decency_!" he snarled. "Now clean this up. _All of you_."

Toris groaned. _That_ was something he did _not_ want to do.

Alfred pouted, the smile sliding off like the whipped cream on his face. "Aww, come on, Arty," he said. "We were just having a bit of fun."

"Fun is _not_ throwing food around. We could spend _hours_ cleaning this up."

"B-but...but it's my birthday," he muttered. "We were just having some fun..."

Arthur sighed and rubbed his temples. "Well, clean up your mess at least. We don't want a messy patio for dinner either."

Alfred pouted but groaned in exasperation. "Fine. Fine. Fine. Clean up everything, guys. Sorry that Arthur's being such a party pooper."

"A _what_?"

* * *

><p>After cleaning up the huge mess (which took about an hour to fully clean up), Toris laid low for a bit, alternating between staying in his room, fiddling with his phone and hanging out with Raivis and Eduard (the latter looking rather pissed that Toris spent a day in their room again. He didn't know where Ivan was, nor did he know where Feliks was. After the food fight, emotions ran rather high throughout everyone, even those who weren't fighting.<p>

Speaking of the food fight, why on earth did Feliks start it in the first place? Why did he and Ivan had such a fierce animosity towards each other? They didn't crazily hate each other before, so why now? What on Earth caused it?

Or...Toris eyes widened in realization.

_Who_ caused it?

Oh.

My.

God.

"H-Hey, guys," he said.

"Mmhmm?" Eduard and Raivis played a game on Eduard's iPad.

"I think I know why Ivan and Feliks are acting weird."

"Yup," Eduard said. "Dang it, Raivis!"

"S-Sorry, Ed."

"I...Guys, Ivan _likes_ me too!"

They looked up. "Are you serious?" Eduard asked disparagingly.

Toris flinched. "Y-Yes."

"Wait...you just found that out _now_?"

Toris blinked. "Yes...?"

"Wow. I didn't know you where that _dense_, Toris!"

He blushed. "D-Dense?"

"It...it _is_ a little obvious," Raivis said.

"...What?"

This simply blew Toris' mind away. All this time his _best friends_ knew what was going on, and nobody even told him anything!

"How long have you guys _known_?"

Eduard and Raivis looked at each other, and said at the same time, "A while."

Toris stared blankly ahead before putting his face in his hands. "A _while_?"

"...Err, you mean you haven't noticed how he _acts_ towards you?" Eduard said.

"N-No. But...oh _God_, it all makes sense!" Toris wailed. "Why didn't you guys _tell me_?"

"W-We thought you knew, Toris," Raivis said. "_Everyone_ thought you knew."

Toris removed his hands. _"Everyone?"_

Eduard elbowed Raivis. _"Hush."_

"...Guys, who's _everyone_?" His mouth went dry, and his stomach dropped.

"Uhhh..." Raivis looked at Eduard.

Eduard sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. "The entire office—"

"_ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"_

Toris shot up, breathing harshly and his face going red. Raivis whimpered and shrunk away in fear. Eduard flinched, but held his ground.

"Y-You..._everyone knew_?"

"Well, _yeah_," Eduard said. "Everyone thought that you knew too."

"B-But no one discussed this with me, and—and—"

"O-Of course, no one talked about it with you! No one would want to take the f-fun out of gossiping it behind your back," Raivis said.

"_Raivis!"_

"WHAT? Okay, you know what?" Toris clutched his hair, looking for all the world a madman.

"I...I am going to go back to my room. And I will sit there quietly. And I won't come out until we have to leave. Or until Alfred serves cake. Or...I just want to be alone for a while."

The poor shell-shocked Toris walked out.

* * *

><p>"Whooo-hooooo!"<p>

Alfred shot his fists in the air. He was just so _pumped_ for the piñata bashing. He and Arthur had just finished stuffing it with Tootsie Rolls, Kitkats, Hersheys, Baby Ruths, Butterfingers, and ever other kind of candy possibly created.

"Aaaaalright, guys! Single file line, all of you."

His friends groaned but got into place. They currently stood outside near the pool, where a single tree grew in the shadow of the house. Alfred didn't have fond memories of that tree, he hit his head on it when he was ten and he was trying to catch a football. That was an awful trip to the hospital. But it was still the only tree on his property, and the only proper place to hang his awesome piñata.

Once they had all settled down, Alfred clapped his hands and picked up his wooden bat.

"Great job, guys!" he said. He went up and down the line. "Sixteen, seventeen...Hey, where's the eighteenth person?"

"I dunno." "Beats me." "No idea."

Alfred recounted. "Hey, Toris isn't here."

"Toris isn't here?" Feliks asked in concern.

"No, Toris?" Ivan said. "I thought I saw him here."

Alfred frowned. Man, Toris had just been acting _so_ depressed and _mopy_. And Alfred did _not_ want mopy people at his party.

"Yeah, I haven't seen him here. Actually, I haven't seen him all day," Alfred said. Damn, he was getting a little worried for his new friend. He didn't have _actual_ depression, did he?

"Well...I guess even if he isn't here, we gotta start." Alfred put on a smile. "Artie, the piñata!"

Arthur tugged on the rope and lifted that wonderful piñata, that glorious effigy of a man who so inspired his entire life, with his glasses and quirked eyebrow and just _stylish_ black hair.

"Ta-da! Isn't he amazing?" he said, putting a hand on the Stephen Colbert piñata's foot.

Everyone was stunned. Romano said, "Just where the _hell_ did you find a Stephen Colbert piñata?"

"Nonyabusiness! You can't handle his patriotism." Alfred took a batter's stance, swinging his bat around like a pro.

"_Here goes."_

"W-Wait, Alfred," Arthur said. "You're supposed to blindfo—"

"_HI-YA."_

_SMASH!_

Stephen's head flew off his decapitated trunk, flinging candy everywhere as he flew and flew and flew before landing with a soft _thud _on the sand.

"AHHHHHH!"

Alfred smacked the headless body with the butt of the bat, causing it to become detached from the rope, and he continued smashing it and smashing it until Stephen's chest ripped open to reveal the delicious candy underneath.

"Yeah!" He tossed the bat to the side and took out his red, white, and blue piñata bag, flopping onto the grass to shove in as much candy as he possibly could before everyone else came on him.

* * *

><p>He didn't care if everyone was having the time of their lives getting their candy or beating the heck out of an effigy of Stephen Colbert. All that he cared was that he isolated himself from everything just to let himself be alone with his thoughts in his room.<p>

_Okay, okay. Two guys like me. Two _guys_. And I'm straight. Or...Oh wait, never mind. There's no use fighting it now, Toris. You _are_ bi._

He groaned again and put his pillow on his face. This was getting way too complicated. Why did he even pick this job again? Oh right, because Staples paid him too low.

_Now that I've got two men crushing on me. What do I do? Do I pick one and go out with them, or do I just let them be or...Gah!_

Toris sat up.

_I have to do _something_. I can't just sit here while they both fight with each other. Over me. Over _me_. _Toris' heart pounded, and his face heated up. He had never had anyone _fight_ over him before.

_Well, while they're fighting and I'm doing nothing, I—No!_ He swung his legs over the side of the bed. Oh God! Both of them were downstairs outside. With Alfred's piñata. What if one of them _got a hold of the bat?_

"_Hey, like, Ivan, check this out."_

"_Da?"_

_WHAM!_

"No!" he yelled. He put on his shoes and stumbled to the door. _Oh please, please, please, don't have any one of them get hurt!_

He opened the door.

"Ivan!" he exclaimed.

The tall Russian walked inside. There weren't any bruises on his face and his body was still in one piece. Maybe Feliks _didn't_ get to him...

"Ah, hello, Toris. Why aren't you downstairs?"

"I—" _I know that you like me. _

"Isn't it rather lonely up here by yourself?" Ivan glanced around the room and looked at Toris.

"I...I guess it is. But I suck at piñatas. I once hit my dad in the crotch with the bat."

"It's not like you would have had a turn anyways. Alfred destroyed the piñata within the first minute."

"O-Oh, he did, huh? Where's your candy bag?"

"I didn't get any candy. I came to talk to you."

Toris gulped. Oh no, there would only be _one_ reason why Ivan would want to talk to him. In their room. Alone.

"Oh...About what?"

"I'm just a little concerned for you, Toris," Ivan said softly. "Nearly the entire trip, you've been up here, and you don't socialize with anyone else. Do you not like us?"

"Oh no! Not like that at all. I...I just don't like going to parties."

"But so, it isn't very healthy for you to stay up here all the time. You need to interact with others. Talk to them. I don't think they would mind."

"I..." Toris took a few steps back and ended up sitting back on the bed. Ivan followed after and sat next to him.

"I'm just looking out for your well-being, Toris. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Toris looked up at him, and there was something, some_thing_, in Ivan's eyes that he had not caught before. What was it? Pity, compassion, concern? Was there—and Toris gulped for the third time—even _love_ in there?

"Oh...Well...thank you, Ivan."

Ivan smiled. "No problem, Toris. I'm glad." He stood up. "Anyway, would you like to come to Alfred's barbecue with me? He's a very good cook when it comes to American food. It's also very fun. What do you say?" He held out his hand.

Toris stared at his hand for the longest hand. What to do, what to do? How on Earth would Ivan react if he took his hand? If he didn't take it?

"I...I wouldn't mind going down."

He took his hand.

* * *

><p>Feliks looked around the patio. Alfred's party was now in full swing. Alfred grilled burgers, Ludwig and Arthur pulled out a cooler of beer, and Toris and Ivan were nowhere to be found. While Katyusha and Elizabeta chatted and Feliciano hung out with Ludwig or something, Feliks fidgeted and darted his eyes everywhere, in search for his elusive friend. He was <em>sure<em> that Ivan went up to see Toris. He was so _so_ sure of it! Oh, why did he have to be so shy? Why couldn't he just go up to Toris and tell him how he felt? Why, why, why, why, why?

"I'm such an idiot," he muttered. He crossed his legs and put his head in his fists. "Why...?"

"Ah-ha, that's great, Ivan! Really?"

He looked up. Oh _God_. There were Ivan and Toris coming down the stairs, smiling like they were having the time of their lives. _Why can't I make him smile like that?_

"Fel...? Fel?" Elizabeta nudged him.

"H-Huh, what?"

"You were staring off into space? What's—?"

Katyusha elbowed Elizabeta, nodding her head towards Ivan and Toris.

"Oh..."

"...They just look so happy together," Feliks whispered. He felt crushed, tossed aside, replaced, mentally hitting himself for not speaking out later. With Toris in Ivan's clutches now, there was no way Ivan would be distracted enough to let Toris go and talk to him. There just wasn't any other way...

"Hey, Fel, just because they're hanging out, it doesn't mean anything," Elizabeta said, putting her arms around his waist. He limply allowed her to hug him.

"He won't ever let Toris go though."

"So what? Fight for him! Show him that Polish fire of yours."

Feliks smiled. "I guess I can do that."

"See, it isn't all so hopeless."

Toris and Ivan continued to laugh and chatted with Eduard and Raivis, the latter two not looking very excited. The sun began to set on the horizon, its rays reflecting off the ocean and bouncing off the waters into the sky, as the heavens turned a blood red.

_HOOOOOOOOOONK_.

That _GODDAMN BEAR HORN_—

"Hey, hey, everyone!" Alfred said. "Dinner is served."

But even at dinner, Feliks' spirits didn't lift an inch. Who cares if it was the most delicious burger he had ever had? Toris talked with Ivan on one end of the table (Alfred made sure to separate the two of them), and Feliks had to sit and listen while Feliciano blabbered about Ludwig and Elizabeta and Katyusha talked about something that _he didn't care about_. All that mattered was that _Ivan was with Toris_. Toris! _His_ Toris. His sales-buddy. His best friend. The guy he had a crush on for the longest time...

_...And I let him get away. I _let_ him. I didn't say a damn thing._

Feliks observed the two from afar. They were just so friendly and happy and Feliks wasn't doing anything.

Ivan made a joke and Toris laughed that wonderful laugh of his. Feliks even heard it from his side of the table.

Oh gosh, he _really_ couldn't bear it anymore. Even if Ivan already told him, Feliks just _had _to tell Toris how he felt.

* * *

><p>Toris got up.<p>

"Well, I'm off to the bathroom," Toris said.

"Ah, already?" Ivan asked. "Well, I hope you hurry up. I think Alfred might be bringing out the cake soon, and I don't want to sing it without you, Torushka."

_Torushka. _That was Ivan's new nickname for him. Sort of like Feliks' "Liet", but it...sounded a little off to Toris' ears.

For the time that he spent with Ivan, it was a _lot_ different than the time he had spent with Feliks. Ivan was much more calm, more collected, more self-disciplined. Feliks was all chaos, all energy, all impulsiveness.

Toris walked into the house and pulled out a bottle of water from the fridge. He didn't really have to pee; there were just too many people at that party. He valued his little alone time in the house. He was far away from everything, all the noise and ruckus. It was just him, his cold water bottle, and—

"Hey, Liet."

_PFFFFFFF._

Toris sprayed water all across the kitchen wall from shock. He shuddered and gasped, choking.

"F-Feliks, h-how...?"

"Like, I followed you here." He slapped Toris' back. Toris gave one last heave and took a deep breath, his throat raw from coughing.

"Th-thanks, Fel." _Cough._

"No prob."

Toris drank a bit more of the cool water, soothing his throat. Feliks stared down at his shoes.

"So...some party, huh?" Toris said.

"Y-Yeah, it's just getting a little crowded. Alfred's bringing out the cake."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Silence.

"Do you...want to go down?"

"Maybe. Later."

Toris twisted the cap back on his bottle.

"...Did you come here for a particular reason, Fel?"

"Umm, yeah...Actually."

Toris blinked at him. "Oh, what is it?"

"Well...I..." Feliks bit his lip. "Toris, we're...we're friends, right?"

"Right."

Oh no, this was starting up again. Toris' heart raced, and he felt his palms sweat. His mind flashed to that dream the night before—that filthy, raw, sex-charged dream and all the other ones before it—

"W-Well...we're friends. But I don't want to be just your friend."

"O-Oh."

Toris was rooted to the spot. He didn't know whether to jump for joy or to cry or to scream or to punch Feliks in the face.

"Wait, _what_?" he said. "But...we're friends..."

"I know that." Feliks took a deep breath. "But...I'm in love with you."

This was all just too confusing. Did he like Feliks or did he not like Feliks? Was his dream really nothing but a cry for sex from his poor deprived mind? Hell, was he even bi at all? And why was Ivan appearing in his thoughts now?

"What?"

"Uhh..." Feliks raised his head and looked straight at him. "I...I just thought that you needed to hear that, and I...I really wanted to get that out of my system. And—"

Toris didn't mean to sound rude, but he probably did. "What are you doing?"

"_Happy birthday, to you!"_

Outside, his co-workers had already begun their song.

"I-I needed you to know—"

"B-But I..." This was all going far too fast for him. First, he found out that Feliks liked him, and _now_ he knew that Ivan liked him, and now everything was just so confusing—

"Feliks, _don't_."

The words came out of his mouth before he knew what he said.

Feliks blinked and took a few steps back, deeply hurt. He looked as if Toris had shot him.

"What...?"

"_Happy birthday, to you!"_

Toris had no idea what he did or what he thought. The words just flowed from his mouth.

"We're..._friends_."

"Y-Yeah, I _know_ that." Feliks avoided eye contact. "But...I...I wanna be more than just a friend, Toris. I love you."

"I...Fel...You...You really don't know—"

"_Don't!"_

"—how much your friendship means to me."

"_Happy birthday, dear Alfred!"_

"B-But I..." Feliks gulped and looked straight at him, tears prickling the corner of his eyes. He smiled, a tear running down his cheek.

"_Feliks."_

"Th-that's okay, Toris. I...I'm sorry I misinterpreted our friendship."

He turned and walked out of the room, a choked sob following him.

"_Happy birthday, to you!"_

And for some reason, Toris found himself crying too.

* * *

><p>"You know what makes the best damn party, guys?" Alfred asked, after everyone had finished their cake and was either talking on the patio or chilling in the pool or making even more s'mores.<p>

Everyone ignored him. Of course they did. It was all a part of his plan.

"_FIREWORKS_! Artie?"

He turned around and looked behind him. Arthur stood several a half-mile away with the box of fireworks. The night was clear. Perfect.

Alfred pressed send on his phone, and Arthur lit a match to the first set.

_Wheeeeeeeeeeeeew!_

_BOOM!_

The first firework exploded, sending false blue stars across the sky.

* * *

><p>This party blew. At least to Toris it did. He didn't go off and play a game of night beach volleyball, nor did he hang out in the pool, nor did he...well, he didn't do <em>anything<em>. Hell, he wasn't even outside. He was stuck in his Goddamn room again, next to the Goddamn window, where the Goddamn _loud_ fireworks exploded, and where he could see _everyone_.

_Why, why?_

_Toris, you idiot—_

_You had him. You had _him._ You had _HIM.

_You screwed it up._

_But why did I even turn him down in the first place?_

_This feelings for Feliks are fake._

_He's just a really good friend._

_He's just a rebound from Natalia. _

_Nothing good will happen from this._

"Umm, Toris?"

He looked up.

"O-Oh...Eduard..."

The bespectacled man knocked on the wall to his room.

"Toris, is...is everything alright?"

He took a deep breath. No doubt there were still tear streaks on his cheeks. Why would he even want to tell Eduard of all people how he felt? Would it even matter anyways?

"N-No..."

Eduard sat on the bed opposite of him—with a jolt he realized it was Feliks' bed.

"What happened, Toris?" he asked. "You went inside, Feliks followed, and the next thing I knew, Feliks came running down crying his eyes out and hugging Elizabeta."

"Feliks...he...?"

"Yes. He _cried_, Toris. He _cried_."

"I..." Immense guilt settled in him. He wanted to vomit the burger he had for dinner. It was just...This night felt so unreal. _So_ unreal. It was both a nightmare and Arcadia. He didn't know whether he wanted it to end or keep going.

"Feliks...Feliks...told me how he felt," he said, the words like acid on his tongue. "And...and I turned him down."

"Toris..."

"I know, I know." He put his face in his fists. "I...Ed, I don't know what to do anymore. First, I'm bi. Now Feliks is confessing his feelings for me. And then I found out th-that _Ivan_ l-likes me. But...but what if I like _I-Ivan_ too. And...and...I'm just so confused, Ed. I-I...I don't know what to do."

Eduard got up from his bed and sat next to Toris. He knew that Eduard wouldn't hug him or anything like that; Ed didn't like physical affection.

"Toris...wow..._I_ don't even know where to begin."

"Great...Ed..."

"Ordinarily, I would say to give this time, but I really don't think..." He sighed. "Well, Toris, let me just ask you these questions. Feliks, is your friend, right?"

"Y-Yes. I can answer that much."

"Then...I'm just going to put it bluntly then, since there's really no other way to do this. Are you in love with him?"

"I..."

Toris had to stop there. His emotions were just a tangle, and he had no idea how to brush them out.

_Boom._

A firework exploded, painting the room red.

He bit his lip and nodded.

"Yeah...I think I am."

A look of relief passed on Eduard's face.

"Good. You've finally figured it out. I guess you can go talk to him if you—oh!"

Eduard stood up quickly. There stood Feliks. In the doorway. Looking straight at Toris. His eyes were as red as Toris'.

Damn.

"Y-You know, I...I'm just gonna go back outside." Eduard left, not even shooting a second glance at them.

Toris stood up. His knees shook, and there was no way to keep his legs from wobbling. Here it was. It was just him and Feliks. Alone. Their moment.

"H-Hey, Feliks. I—"

_Boom._

White light danced across the room.

And then the impossible happened.

Feliks strode across the room, wrapped his arms around Toris' neck, and kissed him.

Toris' mind went blank. Feliks' lips were just so warm and soft and tasted of strawberries and whipped cream and icing and chocolate. And salt. Salt from his tears. It was perfect and wonderful and just so _right_. Feliks tilted his head to the side, and Toris deepened the kiss, burying a hand in that beautiful hair.

They broke apart—how long had they been kissing?—and stared at each other, their hands clasping tightly. A crazy thought ran through Toris' head—if Feliks were in a dress, and he were in a suit, and they were in a church—

_Boom._

The red light turned Feliks' tears into tears of blood.

"T-T-Toris, I..."

"F-Feliks..."

Feliks gulped, and his voice became steady and unattached. "I have an interview tomorrow with Emilie about changing branches. I'm transferring to Albany."

"_What?"_

"Wish me luck."

Feliks might as well have ripped out his heart. "F-Feliks, _no_!"

"Why not?"

"B-Because I...I..." _Because I _what_?_

Feliks smiled. "That's great, Toris. Good bye."

* * *

><p>Alfred looked up. That sky...that sky covered with the colors of his beloved country. Alfred could not have imagined a more perfect birthday party.<p>

"I just lit the last ones, Al." Arthur walked up the hill, his hair askew and a bit burnt at the tips.

Alfred smiled. "Thanks, Artie. I really couldn't have done this party without you."

Arthur sat next to him on the grass. "So...you're twenty-six now? Feels like yesterday that we just met."

"Yeah, how weird, huh? But, like, at the same time, it feels like we've known each other for our entire lives."

"I suppose, yes. If you put it that way."

"Or maybe I'm just being philanthropic while looking at the fireworks and stars."

"I think you mean philosophical, Al."

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it's philanthropic."

"I'm pretty sure it's not."

"Oh shut up!" Alfred gave him a sloppy kiss on the lips.

"G-Gah! Alfred, what was that about?"

Alfred laughed. "What, can't I just kiss my boyfriend 'thank you'?"

"_No."_

"Aww, don't be such a killjoy, Artie!" He laughed again and crashed his lips onto Arthur's, pushing him so that he was on top. Damn, it felt so good to kiss Arthur on the cool grass. With fireworks. On his _birthday_.

Arthur shoved Alfred off him. "H-Hey, wait a minute."

Alfred flopped over on the grass. "Hey, what?"

Arthur suddenly grabbed his shirt. "Happy birthday, you git." He clambered on top of him and kissed him again.

Yep. This was definitely an awesome party.

* * *

><p>Emilie laughed. "I gotta say, you'll be a breath of fresh air in Albany. I like that." She wrote something in her notepad.<p>

Feliks giggled. They were currently in Emilie's office in the thirtieth floor of corporate, right in the middle of Manhattan and overlooking all of New York City. He blocked out the memories of the night before. He wouldn't want that hurting his interview.

"Well, everything seems to be in order, Feliks." Emilie gathered up his file and placed it on a corner of her desk. "But...there's one thing that seems out of order."

Feliks leaned forward. "What is it, Em?"

"It's just...why on Earth would you want to leave Cambridge after three years? You're one of the best salesmen in the branch, you seemed to have a group of friends with you the last time I was there. So, what compelled you to move?"

"I..." Feliks sighed. He had been rehearsing this question to himself all day. Now why couldn't he—?

Fireworks. Stars. His lips on Toris'.

Oh.

"I...I just couldn't see myself with a future over there, Em. I mean, everyone was totally nice and everything, don't get me wrong. But...I couldn't see Cambridge as a career. So, like, I'm trying out Albany just to see if it'll work out."

"Huh. Interesting. So, you don't have any other doubts? Your friends, your connections?"

Feliks shook his head and drew a smile on his face. "No. Like I said, I don't have a future in Cambridge. I'm more than prepared to leave that part of my life behind."

* * *

><p>O ho~ What will happen to Toris now that Feliks is gone? Is everything all sugary-sweet for all the other couples, or will there be some <strong>strife<strong>? Will Eduard go steady with his Macbook or is there a certain newly-out Latvian on his mind? Will Toris and Feliks finally be together or will there be **_obstacles_** to their love?

Find out on the next installment of HetaOffice, which I guarantee will be _MUCH_ less longer and take me less longer to write.

Happy Thanksgiving, Americans!


End file.
